Plant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to an isolated nucleic acid fragment encoding a plant enzyme that catalyze steps in the biosynthesis of lysine, threonine, methionine, cysteine and isoleucine from aspartate, the enzyme a member selected from the group consisting of: dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine synthase, threonine deaminase and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase. The invention also relates to the construction of a chimeric gene encoding all or a portion of the enzyme, in sense or antisense orientation, wherein expression of the chimeric gene results in production of altered levels of the enzyme in a transformed host cell.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/048,771, filed Jun. 6, 1997, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/049,443, filed Jun. 12, 1997.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is in the field of plant molecular biology. More specifically, this invention pertains to nucleic acid fragments encoding enzymes involved in amino acid biosynthesis in plants and seeds.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many vertebrates, including man, lack the ability to manufacture a number of amino acids and therefore require these amino acids preformed in the diet. These are called essential amino acids. Human food and animal feed, derived from many grains, are deficient in essential amino acids, such as lysine, the sulfur amino acids methionine and cysteine, threonine and tryptophan. For example, in corn (Zea mays L.) lysine is the most limiting amino acid for the dietary requirements of many animals. Soybean (Glycine max L.) meal is used as an additive to com-based animal feeds primarily as a lysine supplement. Thus, an increase in the lysine content of either corn or soybean would reduce or eliminate the need to supplement mixed grain feeds with lysine produced via fermentation of microbes. Furthermore, in corn the sulfur amino acids are the third most limiting amino acids, after lysine and tryptophan, for the dietary requirements of many animals. The use of soybean meal, which is rich in lysine and tryptophan, to supplement corn in animal feed is limited by the low sulfur amino acid content of the legume. Thus. an increase in the sulfur amino acid content of either corn or soybean would improve the nutritional quality of the mixtures and reduce the need for further supplementation through addition of more expensive methionine.

Lysine, threonine, methionine, cysteine and isoleucine are amino acids derived from aspartate. Regulation of the biosynthesis of each member of this family is interconnected (see FIG. 1). One approach to increasing the nutritional quality of human foods and animal feed is to increase the production and accumulation of specific free amino acids via genetic engineering of this biosynthetic pathway. Alteration of the activity of enzymes in this pathway could lead to altered levels of lysine, threonine, methionine, cysteine and isoleucine. However, few of the genes encoding enzymes that regulate this pathway in plants, especially corn, soybeans and wheat, are available.

The organization of the pathway leading to biosynthesis of lysine, threonine, methionine, cysteine and isoleucine indicates that over-expression or reduction of expression of genes encoding, inter alia, threonine synthase, dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine deaminase and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase in corn, soybean, wheat and other crop plants could be used to alter levels of these amino acids in human food and animal feed. Accordingly, availability of nucleic acid sequences encoding all or a portion of these enzymes would facilitate development of nutritionally improved crop plants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The instant invention relates to isolated nucleic acid fragments encoding plant enzymes involved in amino acid biosynthesis. Specifically, this invention concerns isolated nucleic acid fragments encoding the following plant enzymes that catalyze steps in the biosynthesis of lysine, threonine, methionine, cysteine and isoleucine from aspartate:

dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine synthase, threonine deaminase and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase. In addition, this invention relates to nucleic acid fragments that are complementary to nucleic acid fragments encoding the listed plant biosynthetic enzymes.

In another embodiment, the instant invention relates to chimeric genes encoding the amino acid biosynthetic acid enzymes listed above or to chimeric genes that comprise nucleic acid fragments that are complementary to the nucleic acid fragments encoding the enzymes, operably linked to suitable regulatory sequences. wherein expression of the chimeric genes results in production of levels of the encoded enzvmes in transformed host cells that are altered (i.e., increased or decreased) from the levels produced in untransformed host cells.

In a further embodiment, the instant invention concerns a transformed host cell comprising in its genome a chimeric gene encoding a plant amino acid biosynthetic enzyme operably linked to suitable regulatory sequences, the enzyme selected from the group consisting of: dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine synthase, threonine deaminase and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase. Expression of the chimeric gene results in production of altered levels of the biosynthetic enzyme in the transformed host cell. The transformed host cells can be of eukaryotic or prokaryotic origin, and include cells derived from higher plants and microorganisms. The invention also includes transformed plants that arise from transformed host cells of higher plants, and seeds derived from such transformed plants.

An additional embodiment of the instant invention concerns a method of altering the level of expression of a plant biosynthetic enzyme in a transformed host cell comprising: a) transforming a host cell with a chimeric gene comprising a nucleic acid fragment encoding a plant biosynthetic enzyme selected from the group consisting of dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine synthase, threonine deaminase and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase, operably linked to suitable regulatory sequences; and b) growing the transformed host cell under conditions that are suitable for expression of the chimeric gene wherein expression of the chimeric gene results in production of altered levels of the biosynthetic enzyme in the transformed host cell.

An additional embodiment of the instant invention concerns a method for obtaining a nucleic acid fragment encoding all or substantially all of an amino acid sequence encoding a plant dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine synthase, threonine deaminase and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase.

A further embodiment of the instant invention is a method for evaluating at least one compound for its ability to inhibit the activity of a plant biosynthetic enzyme selected from the group consisting of dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine synthase, threonine deaminase and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase, the method comprising the steps of: (a) transforming a host cell with a chimeric gene comprising a nucleic acid fragment encoding a plant biosynthetic enzyme selected from the group consisting of dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine synthase, threonine deaminase and S-denosylmethionine synthetase, operably linked to suitable regulatory sequences; (b) growing the transformed host cell under conditions that are suitable for expression of the chimeric gene wherein expression of the chimeric gene results in production of the biosynthetic enzyme in the transformed host cell; (c) optionally purifying the biosynthetic enzyme expressed by the transformed host cell; (d) treating the biosynthetic enzyme with a compound to be tested; and (e) comparing the activity of the biosynthetic enzyme that has been treated with a test compound to the activity of an untreated biosynthetic enzyme, thereby selecting compounds with potential for inhibitory activity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND SEQUENCE DESCRIPTIONS

The invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings and sequence descriptions which form a part of this application.

FIG. 1 depicts the biosynthetic pathway for the aspartate family of amino acids. The following abbreviations are used: AK=aspartokinase; ASADH=aspartic semialdehyde dehydrogenase; DHDPS=dihydrodipicolinate synthase; DHDPR=dihydrodipicolinate reductase; DAPEP=diaminopimelate epimerase; DAPDC=diaminopimelate decarboxylase; HDH=homoserine dehydrogenase; HK=homoserine kinase; TS=threonine synthase; TD=threonine deaminase; CγS=cystathionine y-synthase; CβL=cystathionine β-lyase; MS=methionine synthase; CS=cysteine synthase; and SAMS=S-adenosylmethionine synthase.

FIG. 2 shows a multiple alignment of the amino acid sequence fragments reported herein encoding dihydrodipicolinate reductase (SEQ ID NOs:2 and 4) and the Synechocystis ID NO:5).

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a multiple alignment of the amino acid sequence fragments reported herein encoding diaminopimelate epimerase (SEQ ID NOs:7, 9, 11, and 13) and the Synechocystis sp. diaminopimelate epimerase sequence set forth in DDBJ Accession No. D90917 (SEQ ID NO:14).

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C show a multiple alignment of the amino acid sequence fragments reported herein encoding threonine synthase (SEQ ID NOs:16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26) and the Arabidopsis thaliana threonine synthase sequence set forth in GenBank Accession No. L41666 (SEQ ID NO:27).

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a multiple alignment of the amino acid sequence fragments reported herein encoding threonine deaminase (SEQ ID NOs:29, 31, and 33) to the Burkholderia capacia threonine synthase set forth in GenBank Accession No. U40630 (SEQ ID NO:34).

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C show the nucleotide sequence alignment of the S-adenosylmethionine synthetase reported herein for corn (SEQ ID NO:35) with the Oryza sativa S-adenosylmethionine synthetase nucleotide sequence set forth in EMBL Accession No. Z26867 (SEQ ID NO:37).

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C show the nucleotide sequence alignment of the S-adenosylmethionine synthetase reported here for soybean (SEQ ID NO:38) with the Lycopersicon esculentum S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase nucleotide sequence set forth in EMBL Accession No. 724741 (SEQ ID NO:40).

FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C show the nucleotide sequence alignment of the S-adenosylmethionine synthetase reported here for wheat (SEQ ID NO:41) with the Hordeum vulgare S-adenosylmethionine synthetase nucleotide sequence set forth in DDBJ Accession No. D63835 (SEQ ID NO:43).

Amino acid sequence alignments were performed using the Clustal method of alignment (Higgins, D. G. and Sharp, P. M. (1989) CABIOS 5:151-153), from the Megalign program of the LASARGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.). Nucleotide sequence alignments were a result of the BLASTN search performed with each individual S-adenosylmethionine sequence.

The following sequence descriptions and sequence listings attached hereto comply with the rules governing nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence disclosures in patent applications as set forth in 37 C.F.R. §1.821-1.825.

SEQ ID NO:1 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the entire cDNA insert in clone csiln.pk0042. a3 encoding a corn dihydrodipicolinate reductase.

SEQ ID NO:2 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a corn dihydrodipicolinate reductase derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.

SEQ ID NO:3 is the nucleotide sequence comprising a portion of the cDNA insert in clone rls2.pk0017.d3 encoding a rice dihydrodipicolinate reductase.

SEQ ID NO:4 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a rice dihydrodipicolinate reductase derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:3.

SEQ ID NO:5 is the amino acid sequence of the entire Synechocystis sp. dihydrodipicolinate reductase DDBJ Accession No. D90899.

SEQ ID NO:6 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the entire cDNA insert in clone chp2.pk0008.h4 encoding a corn diaminopimelate epimerase.

SEQ ID NO:7 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a corn diaminopimelate epimerase derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:6.

SEQ ID NO:8 is the nucleotide sequence comprising a portion of the cDNA insert in clone rls48.pk0036.h10 encoding a rice diaminopimelate epimerase.

SEQ ID NO:9 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a rice diaminopimelate epimerase derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:8.

SEQ ID NO:10 is the nucleotide sequence comprising a contig formed of portions of sfl1.pk0031.h3, and sgs1c.pk002.k12, and the entire cDNA insert from clones se2.pk0005.f1, and ses8w.pk0010.h11 encoding a soybean diaminopimelate epimerase.

SEQ ID NO:11 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a soybean diaminopimelate epimerase derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:10.

SEQ ID NO: 12 is the nucleotide sequence comprising a portion of the cDNA insert in clone wlm24.pk0030.g4 encoding a wheat diaminopimelate epimerase.

SEQ ID NO: 13 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a wheat dianinopimelate epimerase derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:12.

SEQ ID NO: 14 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the entire Synechocystis sp. diaminopimelate epimerase DDBJ Accession No. D90917.

SEQ ID NO: 15 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the entire cDNA insert in clone cc2.pk0031.c9 encoding a corn threonine synthase.

SEQ ID NO: 16 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a corn threonine synthase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 15.

SEQ ID NO: 17 is the nucleotide sequence comprising part of the cDNA insert in clone cs1.pk0058.g5 encoding a corn threonine synthase.

SEQ ID NO: 18 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a corn threonine synthase derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17.

SEQ ID NO:19 is the nucleotide sequence comprising part of the cDNA insert in clone rls72.pk0018.e7 encoding a rice threonine synthase.

SEQ ID NO:20 is deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a rice threonine synthase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 19.

SEQ ID NO:21 is the nucleotide sequence comprising part of the cDNA insert in clone se1.06a03 encoding a soybean threonine synthase.

SEQ ID NO:22 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a soybean threonine synthase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:21.

SEQ ID NO:23 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the entire cDNA insert in clone sr1.pk0003.f6 encoding a soybean threonine synthase.

SEQ ID NO:24 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a soybean threonine synthase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:23.

SEQ ID NO:25 is the nucleotide sequence comprising part of the cDNA insert in clone wr1.pk0085.h2 encoding a wheat threonine synthase.

SEQ ID NO:26 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a wheat threonine synthase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:25.

SEQ ID NO:27 is the entire amino acid sequence of an Arabidopsis thaliana threonine synthase found in GenBank Accession No. L41666.

SEQ ID NO:28 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the entire cDNA insert in clone cen1.pk064.f4 encoding a corn threonine deaminase.

SEQ ID NO:29 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a corn threonine deaminase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:28.

SEQ ID NO:30 is the nucleotide sequence comprising a portion of the cDNA insert in clone sfl1.pk0055.h7 encoding a soybean threonine deaminase.

SEQ ID NO:31 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a soybean threonine deaminase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:30.

SEQ ID NO:32 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the entire cDNA insert in clone sre.pk00044.f3 encoding a soybean threonine deaminase.

SEQ ID NO:33 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a portion of a soybean threonine deaminase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:32.

SEQ ID NO:34 is the entire amino acid sequence of a Burkholderia capacia threonine deaminase found in GenBank Accession No. U49630.

SEQ ID NO:35 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the entire cDNA insert in clone cc3.mn0002.d2 encoding the entire corn S-adenosylmethionine synthetase.

SEQ ID NO:36 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a corn S-adenosylmethionine synthetase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:35.

SEQ ID NO:37 is the entire nucleotide sequence of a Oryza sativa S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase found in EMBL Accession No. Z26867.

SEQ ID NO:38 is the nucleotide sequence of the entire cDNA insert in clone s2.12b06 encoding the entire soybean S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase.

SEQ ID NO:39 is the deduced amino acid sequence of the entire soybean S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:38.

SEQ ID NO:40 is the entire nucleotide sequence of a Lycopersicon esculentum S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase found in EMBL Accession No. Z24741.

SEQ ID NO:41 is the nucleotide sequence comprising a contig formed of portions of the cDNA inserts in clones wre1.pk0002.c12, wle1n.pk0070.b8, wkm1c.pk0003.g4, wlk1.pk0028.d3, wre1n.pk170.d8, wr1.pk0086.d5, wr1.pk0103.h8, and wre1n.pk0082.b2 encoding a portion of a wheat S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase.

SEQ ID NO:42 is the deduced amino acid sequence of a wheat S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase derived from the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:41.

SEQ ID NO:43 is the entire nucleotide sequence of a Hordeum vulgare S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase found in DDBJ Accession No. D63835.

The Sequence Descriptions contain the one letter code for nucleotide sequence characters and the three letter codes for amino acids as defined in conformity with the IUPAC-IYUB standards described in Nucleic Acids Research 13:3021-3030 (1985) and in the Biochemical Journal 219 (No. 2):345-373 (1984) which are herein incorporated by reference. The symbols and format used for nucleotide and amino acid sequence data comply with the rules set forth in 37 C.F.R. §1.822.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the context of this disclosure, a number of terms shall be utilized. As used herein, an “isolated nucleic acid fragment” is a polymer of RNA or DNA that is single- or double-stranded, optionally containing synthetic, non-natural or altered nucleotide bases. An isolated nucleic acid fragment in the form of a polymer of DNA may be comprised of one or more segments of cDNA, genomic DNA or synthetic DNA. As used herein, “contig” refers to an assemblage of overlapping nucleic acid sequences to form one contiguous nucleotide sequence. For example, several DNA sequences can be compared and aligned to identify common or overlapping regions. The individual sequences can then be assembled into a single contiguous nucleotide sequence.

As used herein, “substantially similar” refers to nucleic acid fragments wherein changes in one or more nucleotide bases results in substitution of one or more amino acids, but do not affect the functional properties of the protein encoded by the DNA sequence. “Substantially similar” also refers to nucleic acid fragments wherein changes in one or more nucleotide bases does not affect the ability of the nucleic acid fragment to mediate alteration of gene expression by antisense or co-suppression technology. “Substantially similar” also refers to modifications of the nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention such as deletion or insertion of one or more nucleotides that do not substantially affect the functional properties of the resulting transcript vis-a-vis the ability to mediate alteration of gene expression by antisense or co-suppression technology or alteration of the functional properties of the resulting protein molecule. It is therefore understood that the invention encompasses more than the specific exemplary sequences.

For example, it is well known in the art that antisense suppression and co-suppression of gene expression may be accomplished using nucleic acid fragments representing less that the entire coding region of a gene, and by nucleic acid fragments that do not share 100% identity with the gene to be suppressed. Moreover, alterations in a gene which result in the production of a chemically equivalent amino acid at a given site, but do not effect the functional properties of the encoded protein, are well known in the art. Thus, a codon for the amino acid alanine, a hydrophobic amino acid, may be substituted by a codon encoding another less hydrophobic residue, such as glycine, or a more hydrophobic residue, such as valine, leucine, or isoleucine. Similarly, changes which result in substitution of one negatively charged residue for another, such as aspartic acid for glutarnic acid, or one positively charged residue for another, such as lysine for arginine, can also be expected to produce a finctionally equivalent product. Nucleotide changes which result in alteration of the N-terminal and C-terminal portions of the protein molecule would also not be expected to alter the activity of the protein. Each of the proposed modifications is well within the routine skill in the art, as is determination of retention of biological activity of the encoded products. Moreover, the skilled artisan recognizes that substantially similar sequences encompassed by this invention are also defined by their ability to hybridize, under stringent conditions (0.1×SSC, 0.1% SDS, 65° C.), with the sequences exemplified herein. Preferred substantially similar nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention are those nucleic acid fragments whose DNA sequences are 80% identical to the DNA sequence of the nucleic acid fragments reported herein. More preferred nucleic acid fragments are 90% identical to the identical to the DNA sequence of the nucleic acid fragments reported herein. Most preferred are nucleic acid fragments that are 95% identical to the DNA sequence of the nucleic acid fragments reported herein. The Clustal multiple alignment alogarithm (Higgins, D. G. and Sharp, P. M. (1989) CABIOS 5:151-153) was used here with a GAP PENALTY of 10 and a GAP LENGTH PENALTY of 10.

“substantial portion” of an amino acid or nucleotide sequence comprises enough of the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide or the nucleotide sequence of a gene to afford putative identification of that polypeptide or gene, either by manual evaluation of the sequence by one skilled in the art, or by computer-automated sequence comparison and identification using algorithms such as BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool; Altschul, S. F., et al., (1993) J. Mol. Biol. 215:403410). In general, a sequence of ten or more contiguous amino acids or thirty or more nucleotides is necessary in order to putatively identify a polypeptide or nucleic acid sequence as homologous to a known protein or gene. Moreover, with respect to nucleotide sequences, gene specific oligonucleotide probes comprising 20-30 contiguous nucleotides may be used in sequence-dependent methods of gene identification (e.g., Southern hybridization) and isolation (e.g., in situ hybridization of bacterial colonies or bacteriophage plaques). In addition, short oligonucleotides of 12-15 bases may be used as amplification primers in PCR in order to obtain a particular nucleic acid fragment comprising the primers. Accordingly, a “substantial portion” of a nucleotide sequence comprises enough of the sequence to afford specific identification and/or isolation of a nucleic acid fragment comprising the sequence. The instant specification teaches partial or complete amino acid and nucleotide sequences encoding one or more particular plant proteins. The skilled artisan, having the benefit of the sequences as reported herein, may now use all or a substantial portion of the disclosed sequences for purposes known to those skilled in this art. Accordingly, the instant invention comprises the complete sequences as reported in the accompanying Sequence Listing, as well as substantial portions of those sequences as defined above. “Codon degeneracy” refers to divergence in the genetic code permitting variation of the nucleotide sequence without effecting the amino acid sequence of an encoded polypeptide. Accordingly, the instant invention relates to any nucleic acid fragment that encodes all or a substantial portion of the amino acid sequence encoding the amino acid biosynthetic enzymes as set forth in SEQ ID NOs:2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 29, 31, and 33. The skilled artisan is well aware of the “codon-bias” exhibited by a specific host cell in usage of nucleotide codons to specify a given amino acid. Therefore, when synthesizing a gene for improved expression in a host cell, it is desirable to design the gene such that its frequency of codon usage approaches the frequency of preferred codon usage of the host cell.

“Synthetic genes” can be assembled from oligonucleotide building blocks that are chemically synthesized using procedures known to those skilled in the art. These building blocks are ligated and annealed to form gene segments which are then enzymatically assembled to construct the entire gene. “Chemically synthesized”, as related to a sequence of DNA, means that the component nucleotides were assembled in vitro. Manual chemical synthesis of DNA may be accomplished using well established procedures, or automated chemical synthesis can be performed using one of a number of commercially available machines. Accordingly, the genes can be tailored for optimal gene expression based on optimization of nucleotide sequence to reflect the codon bias of the host cell. The skilled artisan appreciates the likelihood of successful gene expression if codon usage is biased towards those codons favored by the host. Determination of preferred codons can be based on a survey of genes derived from the host cell where sequence information is available.

“Gene” refers to a nucleic acid fragment that expresses a specific protein, including regulatory sequences preceding (5′ non-coding sequences) and following (3′ non-coding sequences) the coding sequence. “Native gene” refers to a gene as found in nature with its own regulatory sequences. “Chimeric gene” refers any gene that is not a native gene, comprising regulatory and coding sequences that are not found together in nature. Accordingly, a chimeric gene may comprise regulatory sequences and coding sequences that are derived from different sources, or regulatory sequences and coding sequences derived from the same source, but arranged in a manner different than that found in nature. “Endogenous gene” refers to a native gene in its natural location in the genome of an organism. A “foreign” gene refers to a gene not normally found in the host organism, but that is introduced into the host organism by gene transfer. Foreign genes can comprise native genes inserted into a non-native organism, or chimeric genes. A “transgene” is a gene that has been introduced into the genome by a transformation procedure.

“Coding sequence” refers to a DNA sequence that codes for a specific amino acid sequence. “Regulatory sequences” refer to nucleotide sequences located upstream (5′ non-coding sequences), within, or downstream (3′ non-coding sequences) of a coding sequence, and which influence the transcription, RNA processing or stability, or translation of the associated coding sequence. Regulatory sequences may include promoters, translation leader sequences, introns, and polyadenylation recognition sequences.

“Promoter” refers to a DNA sequence capable of controlling the expression of a coding sequence or functional RNA. In general, a coding sequence is located 3′ to a promoter sequence. The promoter sequence consists of proximal and more distal upstream elements, the latter elements often referred to as enhancers. Accordingly, an “enhancer” is a DNA sequence which can stimulate promoter activity and may be an innate element of the promoter or a heterologous element inserted to enhance the level or tissue-specificity of a promoter. Promoters may be derived in their entirety from a native gene, or be composed of different elements derived from different promoters found in nature, or even comprise synthetic DNA segments. It is understood by those skilled in the art that different promoters may direct the expression of a gene in different tissues or cell types, or at different stages of development, or in response to different environmental conditions. Promoters which cause a gene to be expressed in most cell types at most times are commonly referred to as “constitutive promoters”. New promoters of various types useful in plant cells are constantly being discovered; numerous examples may be found in the compilation by Okamuro and Goldberg, (1989) Biochemistry of Plants 15:1-82. It is further recognized that since in most cases the exact boundaries of regulatory sequences have not been completely defined, DNA fragments of different lengths may have identical promoter activity.

The “translation leader sequence” refers to a DNA sequence located between the promoter sequence of a gene and the coding sequence. The translation leader sequence is present in the fully processed mRNA upstream of the translation start sequence. The translation leader sequence may affect processing of the primary transcript to mRNA, mRNA stability or translation efficiency. Examples of translation leader sequences have been described (Turner, R. and Foster, G. D. (1995) Molecular Biotechnology 3:225).

The “3′ non-coding sequences” refer to DNA sequences located downstream of a coding sequence and include polyadenylation recognition sequences and other sequences encoding regulatory signals capable of affecting mRNA processing or gene expression. The polyadenylation signal is usually characterized by affecting the addition of polyadenylic acid tracts to the 3′ end of the mRNA precursor. The use of different 3′ non-coding sequences is exemplified by Ingelbrecht et al., (1989) Plant Cell 1:671-680.

“RNA transcript” refers to the product resulting from RNA polymerase-catalyzed transcription of a DNA sequence. When the RNA transcript is a perfect complementary copy of the DNA sequence, it is referred to as the primary transcript or it may be a RNA sequence derived from posttranscriptional processing of the primary transcript and is referred to as the mature RNA. “Messenger RNA (mRNA)” refers to the RNA that is without introns and that can be translated into protein by the cell. “cDNA” refers to a double-stranded DNA that is complementary to and derived from mRNA. “Sense” RNA refers to RNA transcript that includes the mRNA and so can be translated into protein by the cell. “Antisense RNA” refers to a RNA transcript that is complementary to all or part of a target primary transcript or mRNA and that blocks the expression of a target gene (U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,065). The complementarity of an antisense RNA may be with any part of the specific gene transcript, i.e., at the 5′ non-coding sequence, 3′ non-coding sequence, introns, or the coding sequence. “Functional RNA” refers to antisense RNA, ribozyme RNA, or other RNA that is not translated yet has an effect on cellular processes.

The term “operably linked” refers to the association of nucleic acid sequences on a single nucleic acid fragment so that the function of one is affected by the other. For example, a promoter is operably linked with a coding sequence when it is capable of affecting the expression of that coding, sequence (i.e., that the coding sequence is under the transcriptional control of the promoter). Coding sequences can be operably linked to regulatory sequences in sense or antisense orientation.

The term “expression”, as used herein, refers to the transcription and stable accumulation of sense (mRNA) or antisense RNA derived from the nucleic acid fragment of the invention. Expression may also refer to translation of mRNA into a polypeptide. “Antisense inhibition” refers to the production of antisense RNA transcripts capable of suppressing the expression of the target protein. “Overexpression” refers to the production of a gene product in transgenic organisms that exceeds levels of production in normal or non-transformed organisms. “Co-suppression” refers to the production of sense RNA transcripts capable of suppressing the expression of identical or substantially similar foreign or endogenous genes (U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,020).

“Altered levels” refers to the production of gene product(s) in transgenic organisms in amounts or proportions that differ from that of normal or non-transformed organisms. “Mature” protein refers to a post-translationally processed polypeptide; i.e., one from which any pre- or propeptides present in the primary translation product have been removed. “Precursor” protein refers to the primary product of translation of mRNA; i.e., with pre- and propeptides still present. Pre- and propeptides may be but are not limited to intracellular localization signals.

A “chloroplast transit peptide” is an amino acid sequence which is translated in conjunction with a protein and directs the protein to the chloroplast or other plastid types present in the cell in which the protein is made. “Chloroplast transit sequence” refers to a nucleotide sequence that encodes a chloroplast transit peptide. A “signal peptide” is an amino acid sequence which is translated in conjunction with a protein and directs the protein to the secretory system (Chrispeels, J. J., (1991) Ann. Rev. Plant Phys. Plant Mol. Biol. 42:21-53). If the protein is to be directed to a vacuole, a vacuolar targeting signal (supra) can further be added, or if to the endoplasmic reticulum, an endoplasmic reticulum retention signal (supra) may be added. If the protein is to be directed to the nucleus, any signal peptide present should be removed and instead a nuclear localization signal included (Raikhel (1992) Plant Phys.100:1627-1632).

“Transformation” refers to the transfer of a nucleic acid fragment into the genome of a host organism, resulting in genetically stable inheritance. Host organisms containing the transformed nucleic acid fragments are referred to as “transgenic” organisms. Examples of methods of plant transformation include Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (De Blaere et al. (1987) Meth. Enzymol. 143:277) and particle-accelerated or “gene gun” transformation technology (Klein et al. (1987) Nature (London) 327:70-73; U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,050).

Standard recombinant DNA and molecular cloning techniques used herein are well known in the art and are described more fully in Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T. Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: Cold Spring Harbor, 1989 (hereinafter “Maniatis”).

Nucleic acid fragments encoding at least a portion of several plant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes have been isolated and identified by comparison of random plant cDNA sequences to public databases containing nucleotide and protein sequences using the BLAST algorithms well known to those skilled in the art. Table 1 lists the amino acid biosynthetic enzymes that are described herein, and the designation of the cDNA clones that comprise the nucleic acid fragments encoding these enzymes.

TABLE 1 Amino Acid Biosynthetic Enzymes Enzyme Clone Plant dihydrodipicolinate reductase cs1.pk0083.b10 corn rls2.pk0017.d3 rice diaminopimelate epimerase chp2.pk0008.h4 corn rls48.pk0036.h10 rice se2.pk0005.fl soybean ses8w.pk0010.fl1 soybean sfl1.pk0031.h3 soybean sgs1c.pk002.k12 soybean wlm24.pk0030.g4 wheat threonine synthase cc2.pk0031.c9 corn cs1.pk0058.g5 corn rls72.pk0018.e7 rice se1.06a03 soybean sr1.pk0003.f6 soybean wr1.pk0085.h2 wheat threonine deaminase cen1.pk0064.f4 corn sfl1.pk0055.h7 soybean sre.pk0044.f3 soybean s-adenosylmethionine synthase cc3.mn0002.d2 corn se2.12b06 soybean wre1.pk0002.c12 wheat wle1n.pk0070.b8 wheat wkm1c.pk0003.g4 wheat wlk1.pk0028.d3 wheat wre1n.pk170.d8 wheat wr1.pk0086.d5 wheat wr1.pk0103.h8 wheat wre1n.pk0082.b2 wheat

The nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention may be used to isolate cDNAs and genes encoding homologous enzymes from the same or other plant species. Isolation of homologous genes using sequence-dependent protocols is well known in the art. Examples of sequence-dependent protocols include, but are not limited to, methods of nucleic acid hybridization, and methods of DNA and RNA amplification as exemplified by various uses of nucleic acid amplification technologies (e.g., polymerase chain reaction, ligase chain reaction).

For example, genes encoding other amino acid biosynthetic enzymes, either as cDNAs or genomic DNAs, could be isolated directly by using all or a portion of the instant nucleic acid fragments as DNA hybridization probes to screen libraries from any desired plant employing methodology well known to those skilled in the art. Specific oligonucleotide probes based upon the instant nucleic acid sequences can be designed and synthesized by methods known in the art (Maniatis). Moreover, the entire sequences can be used directly to synthesize DNA probes by methods known to the skilled artisan such as random primers DNA labeling, nick translation, or end-labeling techniques. or RNA probes using available in vitro transcription systems. In addition, specific primers can be designed and used to amplify a part of or full-length of the instant sequences. The resulting amplification products can be labeled directly during amplification reactions or labeled after amplification reactions, and used as probes to isolate full length cDNA or genomic fragments under conditions of appropriate stringency.

In addition, two short segments of the instant nucleic acid fragments may be used in polymerase chain reaction protocols to amplify longer nucleic acid fragments encoding homologous genes from DNA or RNA. The polymerase chain reaction may also be performed on a library of cloned nucleic acid fragments wherein the sequence of one primer is derived from the instant nucleic acid fragments, and the sequence of the other primer takes advantage of the presence of the polyadenylic acid tracts to the 3′ end of the mRNA precursor encoding plant genes. Alternatively, the second primer sequence may be based upon sequences derived from the cloning vector. For example, the skilled artisan can follow the RACE protocol (Frohman et al., (1988) PNAS USA 85:8998) to generate cDNAs by using PCR to amplify copies of the region between a single point in the transcript and the 3′ or 5′ end. Primers oriented in the 3′ and 5′ directions can be designed from the instant sequences. Using commercially available 3′ RACE or 5′ RACE systems (BRL), specific 3′ or 5′ cDNA fragments can be isolated (Ohara et al., (1989) PNAS USA 86:5673; Loh et al., (1989) Science 243:217). Products generated by the 3′ and 5′ RACE procedures can be combined to generate full-length cDNAs (Frohman, M. A. and Martin, G. R., (1989) Techniques 1:165).

Availability of the instant nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences facilitates immunological screening cDNA expression libraries. Synthetic peptides representing portions of the instant amino acid sequences may be synthesized. These peptides can be used to immunize animals to produce polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies with specificity for peptides or proteins comprising the amino acid sequences. These antibodies can be then be used to screen cDNA expression libraries to isolate full-length cDNA clones of interest (Lerner, R. A. (1984)Adv. Immunol. 36:1; Maniatis).

The nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention may be used to create transgenic plants in which the disclosed biosynthetic enzymes are present at higher or lower levels than normal or in cell types or developmental stages in which they are not normally found. This would have the effect of altering the level of free amino acids in those cells.

Overexpression of the biosynthetic enzymes of the instant invention may be accomplished by first constructing chimeric genes in which the coding region are operably linked to promoters capable of directing expression of a gene in the desired tissues at the desired stage of development. For reasons of convenience, the chimeric genes may comprise promoter sequences and translation leader sequences derived from the same genes. 3′ Non-coding sequences encoding transcription termination signals may also be provided. The instant chimeric genes may also comprise one or more introns in order to facilitate gene expression.

Plasmid vectors comprising the instant chimeric genes can then constructed. The choice of plasmid vector is dependent upon the method that will be used to transform host plants. The skilled artisan is well aware of the genetic elements that must be present on the plasmid vector in order to successfully transform, select and propagate host cells containing the chimeric gene. The skilled artisan will also recognize that different independent transformation events will result in different levels and patterns of expression (Jones et al., (1985) EMBO J. 4:2411-2418; De Almeida et al., (1989) Mol. Gen. Genetics 218:78-86), and thus that multiple events must be screened in order to obtain lines displaying the desired expression level and pattern. Such screening may be accomplished by Southern analysis of DNA, Northern analysis of mRNA expression, Western analysis of protein expression, or phenotypic analysis.

For some applications it may be useful to direct the instant biosynthetic enzymes to different cellular compartments, or to facilitate their secretion from the cell. It is thus envisioned that the chimeric genes described above may be further supplemented by altering the coding sequences to encode enzymes with appropriate intracellular targeting sequences such as transit sequences (Keegstra, K. (1989) Cell 56:247-253), signal sequences or sequences encoding endoplasmic reticulum localization (Chrispeels, J. J., (1991) Ann. Rev. Plant Phys. Plant Mol. Biol. 42:21-53), or nuclear localization signals (Raikhel, N. (1992) Plant Phys.100:1627-1632) added and/or with targeting sequences that are already present removed. While the references cited give examples of each of these, the list is not exhaustive and more targeting signals of utility may be discovered in the future.

It may also be desirable to reduce or eliminate expression of the genes encoding the instant biosynthetic enzymes in plants for some applications. In order to accomplish this, chimeric genes designed for co-suppression of the instant biosynthetic enzymes can be constructed by linking the genes or gene fragments encoding the enzymes to plant promoter sequences. Alternatively, chimeric genes designed to express antisense RNA for all or part of the instant nucleic acid fragments can be constructed by linking the genes or gene fragment in reverse orientation to plant promoter sequences. Either the co-suppression or antisense chimeric genes could be introduced into plants via transformation wherein expression of the corresponding endogenous genes are reduced or eliminated.

The instant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes (or portions of the enzymes) may be produced in heterologous host cells, particularly in the cells of microbial hosts, and can be used to prepare antibodies to the enzymes by methods well known to those skilled in the art. The antibodies are useful for detecting the enzymes in situ in cells or in vitro in cell extracts. Preferred heterologous host cells for production of the instant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes are microbial hosts. Microbial expression systems and expression vectors containing regulatory sequences that direct high level expression of foreign proteins are well known to those skilled in the art. Any of these could be used to construct chimeric genes for production of the instant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes. These chimeric genes could then be introduced into appropriate microorganisms via transformation to provide high level expression of the enzymes. An example of a vector for high level expression of the instant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes in a bacterial host is provided (Example 11).

Additionally, the instant plant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes can be used as a targets to facilitate design and/or identification of inhibitors of the enzymes that may be useful as herbicides. This is desirable because the enzymes described herein catalyze various steps in a pathway leading to production of several essential amino acids. Accordingly, inhibition of the activity of one or more of the enzymes described herein could lead to inhibition of amino acid biosynthesis sufficient to inhibit plant growth. Thus, the instant plant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes could be appropriate for new herbicide discovery and design.

All or a substantial portion of the nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention may also be used as probes for genetically and physically mapping the genes that they are a part of, and as markers for traits linked to those genes. Such information may be useful in plant breeding in order to develop lines with desired phenotypes. For example, the instant nucleic acid fragments may be used as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers. Southern blots (Maniatis) of restriction-digested plant genomic DNA may be probed with the nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention. The resulting banding patterns may then be subjected to genetic analyses using computer programs such as MapMaker (Lander et at., (1987) Genomics 1:174-181) in order to construct a genetic map. In addition, the nucleic acid fragments of the instant invention may be used to probe Southern blots containing restriction endonuclease-treated genomic DNAs of a set of individuals representing parent and progeny of a defined genetic cross. Segregation of the DNA polymorphisms is noted and used to calculate the position of the instant nucleic acid sequence in the genetic map previously obtained using this population (Botstein, D. et al., (1980) Am. J. Hum. Genet. 32:314-331).

The production and use of plant gene-derived probes for use in genetic mapping is described in R. Bernatzky, R. and Tanksley, S. D. (1986) Plant MoL Biol. Reporter 4(1):37-41. Numerous publications describe genetic mapping of specific cDNA clones using the methodology outlined above or variations thereof. For example, F2 intercross populations, backcross populations, randomly mated populations, near isogenic lines, and other sets of individuals may be used for mapping. Such methodologies are well known to those skilled in the art.

Nucleic acid probes derived from the instant nucleic acid sequences may also be used for physical mapping (i.e., placement of sequences on physical maps; see Hoheisel, J. D., et al., In: Nonmammalian Genomic Analysis: A Practical Guide, Academic press 1996, pp. 319-346, and references cited therein).

In another embodiment, nucleic acid probes derived from the instant nucleic acid sequences may be used in direct fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping (Trask, B. J. (1991) Trends Genet. 7:149-154). Although current methods of FISH mapping favor 30 use of large clones (several to several hundred KB; see Laan, M. et al. (1995) Genome Research 5:13-20), improvements in sensitivity may allow performance of FISH mapping using shorter probes.

A variety of nucleic acid amplification-based methods of genetic and physical mapping may be carried out using the instant nucleic acid sequences. Examples include allele-specific amplification (Kazazian, H. H. (1989) J. Lab. Clin. Med. 114(2):95-96), polymorphism of PCR-amplified fragments (CAPS; Sheffield, V. C. et al. (1993) Genomics 16:325-332), allele-specific ligation (Landegren, U. et al. (1988) Science 241:1077-1080), nucleotide extension reactions (Sokolov, B. P. (1990) Nucleic Acid Res. 18:3671), Radiation Hybrid Mapping (Walter, M. A. et al. (1997) Nature Genetics 7:22-28) and Happy Mapping (Dear, P. H. and Cook, P. R. (1989) Nucleic Acid Res. 17:6795-6807). For these methods, the sequence of a nucleic acid fragment is used to design and produce primer pairs for use in the amplification reaction or in primer extension reactions. The design of such primers is well known to those skilled in the art. In methods employing PCR-based genetic mapping, it may be necessary to identify DNA sequence differences between the parents of the mapping cross in the region corresponding to the instant nucleic acid sequence. This, however, is generally not necessary for mapping methods.

Loss of function mutant phenotypes may be identified for the instant cDNA clones either by targeted gene disruption protocols or by identifying specific mutants for these genes contained in a maize population carrying mutations in all possible genes (Ballinger and Benzer, (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 86:9402; Koes et al., (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 92:8149; Bensen et al., (1995) Plant Cell 7:75). The latter approach may be accomplished in two ways. First, short segments of the instant nucleic acid fragments may be used in polymerase chain reaction protocols in conjunction with a mutation tag sequence primer on DNAs prepared from a population of plants in which Mutator transposons or some other mutation-causing DNA element has been introduced (see Bensen, supra). The amplification of a specific DNA fragment with these primers indicates the insertion of the mutation tag element in or near the plant gene encoding dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine synthase, threonine deaminase or S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase. Alternatively, the instant nucleic acid fragment may be used as a hybridization probe against PCR amplification products generated from the mutation population using the mutation tag sequence primer in conjunction with an arbitrary genomic site primer, such as that for a restriction enzyme site-anchored synthetic adaptor. With either method, a plant containing a mutation in the endogenous gene encoding a dihydrodipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase threonine synthase, threonine deaminase or S-adenosylmethionine synthetase can be identified and obtained. This mutant plant can then be used to determine or confirm the natural function of the dihydro-dipicolinate reductase, diaminopimelate epimerase, threonine synthase, threonine deaminase and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase gene product.

EXAMPLES

The present invention is further defined in the following Examples, in which all parts and percentages are by weight and degrees are Celsius, unless otherwise stated. It should be understood that these Examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only. From the above discussion and these Examples, one skilled in the art can ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.

Example 1 Composition of cDNA Libraries; Isolation and Seauencing of cDNA Clones

cDNA libraries representing mRNAs from various corn, rice, soybean and wheat tissues were prepared. The characteristics of the libraries are described below.

TABLE 2 10/31 cDNA Libraries from Corn and Soybean Tissues Library Tissue Clone cc2 Corn Callus, Partially Differentiated, 2 Weeks After cc2.pk0031.c9 Subculture cc3 Corn Callus, Mature Somatic Embryo cc3.mn0002.d2 cen1 Corn Endosperm 12 Days After Pollination cen1.pk0064.f4 chp2 Corn Leaf, 11 Day Old Plant chp2.pk0008.h4 cs1 Corn Leaf, Sheath 5 Week Old Plant cs1.pk0058.g5 csi1n Corn Silk* csi1n.pk0042.a3 rls2 Rice Leaf 15 Days After Germination, 2 Hours After Infection rls2.pk0017.d3 of Strain Magaporthe grisea 4360-R-67 (AVR2-YAMO); Susceptible rls48 Rice Leaf 15 Days After Germination, 48 Hours After rls48.pk0036.h10 Infection of Strain Magaporthe grisea 4360-R-67 (AVR2- YAMO); Susceptible rls72 Rice Leaf 15 Days After Germination, 72 Hours After rls72.pk0018.e7 Infection of Strain Magaporthe grisea 4360-R-67 (AVR2- YAMO); Susceptible s2 Soybean Seed, 19 Days After Flowering s2.12b06 se1 Soybean Embryo 7 Days After Flowering se1.06a03 se2 Soybean Embryo 10 Days After Flowering se2.pk0005.f1 ses8w Mature Soybean Embryo 8 Weeks After Subculture ses8w.pk0010.h11 sfl1 Soybean Immature Flower sfl1.pk0055.h7 sfl1.pk0031.h3 sgs1c Soybean Seeds 4 Hours After Germination sgs1c.pk002.k12 sr1 Soybean Root From 10 Day Old Seedlings sr1.pk0003.f6 sre Soybean Root Elongation 4-5 Days After Germination sre.pk0044.f3 wkm1c Wheat Kernel Malted 55 Hours at 22 Degrees Celsius wkm1c.pk0003.g4 wle1n Wheat Leaf From 7 Day Old Etiolated Seedling* wle1n.pk0070.b8 wlk1 Wheat Seedlings 1 Hour After Treatment with Fungicide** wlk1.pk0028.d3 wlm24 Wheat Seedlings 24 Hours After Inoculation With Erysiphe wlm24.pk0030.g4 graminis f. sp tritici wr1 Wheat Root From 7 Day Old Seedling wr1.pk0085.h2 wr1.pk0086.d5 wr1.pk0103.h8 wre1 Wheat Root From 7 Day Old Etiolated Seedling wre1.pk0002.c12 wre1n Wheat Root From 7 Day Old Etiolated Seedling* wre1n.pk0082.b2 wre1n.pk170.d8 *These libraries were normalized essentially as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,845 **Application of 6-iodo-2-propoxy-3-propyl-4(3H)-quinazolinone; synthesis and methods of using this compound are described in USSN 08/545,827, incorporated herein by reference.

cDNA libraries were prepared in Uni-ZAP™ XR vectors according to the manufacturer's protocol (Stratagene Cloning Systems,La Jolla, Calif.). Conversion of the Uni-ZAP™ XR libraries into plasmid libraries was accomplished according to the protocol provided by Stratagene. Upon conversion, cDNA inserts were contained in the plasmid vector pBluescript. cDNA inserts from randomly picked bacterial colonies containing 10 recombinant pBluescript plasmids were amplified via polymerase chain reaction using primers specific for vector sequences flanking the inserted cDNA sequences, or plasmid DNA was prepared from cultured bacterial cells. Amplified insert DNAs or plasmid DNAs were sequenced in dye-primer sequencing reactions to generate partial cDNA sequences (expressed sequence tags or “ESTs”; see Adams, M. D. et al., (1991) Science 252:1651).

Example 2 Identification and Characterization of cDNA Clones

ESTs encoding plant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes were identified by conducting BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search tool; Altschul, S. F., et al., (1993) J. Mol. Biol. 215:403-410) searches for similarity to sequences contained in the BLAST “nr” database (comprising all non-redundant GenBank CDS translations, sequences derived from the 3-dimensional structure Brookhaven Protein Data Bank, the last major release of the SWISS-PROT protein sequence database, EMBL, and DDBJ databases). The cDNA sequences obtained in Example 1 were analyzed for similarity to all publicly available DNA sequences contained in the “nr” database using the BLASTN algorithm provided by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The DNA sequences were translated in all reading frames and compared for similarity to all publicly available protein sequences contained in the “nr” database using the BLASTX algorithm (Gish, W. and States, D. J. (1993) Nature Genetics 3:266-272) provided by the NCBI. For convenience, the P-value (probability) of observing a match of a cDNA sequence to a sequence contained in the searched databases merely by chance as calculated by BLAST are reported herein as “pLog” values, which represent the negative of the logarithm of the reported P-value. Accordingly, the greater the pLog value, the greater the likelihood that the cDNA sequence and the BLAST “hit” represent homologous proteins.

Example 3 Characterization of cDNA Clones Encoding Polypeptides Homologous to Dihydrodipicolinate Reductase

The BLASTX search using the nucleotide sequences from clones csi1n.pk0042.a3 and r1s2.pk0017.d3 revealed similarity of the protein encoded by the cDNA to Synechocystis sp. dihydrodipicolinate reductase enzyme (DDBJ Accession No. D90899). BLAST pLog values were 12.60 and 11.68 for csi1n.pk0042.a3 and rls2.pk0017.d3, respectively.

The sequence of the entire cDNA insert in clone csi1n.pk0042.a3 was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO:1; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:2. The amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 was evaluated by BLASTP, yielding a pLog value of 36.72 versus the Synechocystis sp. dihydrodipicolinate reductase sequence. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone rls2.pk0017.d3 is shown in SEQ ID NO:3; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:4. FIG. 2 presents an alignment of the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 and the Synechocystis sp. dihydrodipicolinate reductase sequence (SEQ ID NO:5). SEQ ID NO:2 is 40% identical to the Synechocystis sp. dihydrodipicolinate reductase sequence (SEQ ID NO:5). Sequence alignments were performed by the Clustal method of alignment (Higgins, D. G. and Sharp, P. M. (1989) CABIOS 5:151-153), using the Megalign program of the LASARGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.). Sequence percent identity calculations were performed by the Jotun Hein method (Hein. J. J. (1990) Meth. Enz. 183:626-645) using the Megalign program of the LASARGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.).

Sequence alignments and BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode a nearly entire corn dihydropicolinate reductase, and a portion of a rice dihydropicolinate reductase. These sequences represent the first plant sequences encoding dihydropicolinate reductase.

Example 4 Characterization of cDNA Clones Encoding Diaminopimelate Epimerase

The BLASTX search using the nucleotide sequences from clones chp2.pk0008.h4, rls48.pk0036.h10, wlm24.pk0030.g4, and the contig sequences assembled from clones se2.pk0005.f1, ses8w.pk0010.h11.sf11pk0031.h3, and sgs1c.pk002.k12 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to diaminopimelate epimerase from Synechocystis sp. (DDBJ Accession No. D90917). The BLAST results for each of these ESTs are shown in Table 3:

TABLE 3 BLAST Results for Clones Encoding Polypeptides Homologous to Diaminopimelate Epimerase BLAST pLog Score Clone DDBJ Accession No. D90917 chp2.pk0008.h4 59.16 rls48.pk0036.h10 40.82 The contig of: 98.30 se2.pk0005.f1 ses8w.pk0010.h11 sfl1.pk0031.h3 sgs1c.pk002.k12 wlm24.pk0030.g4 23.46

The sequence of the entire cDNA insert in clone chp2.pk0008.h4 was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO:6; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:7. The amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:7 was evaluated by BLASTP, yielding a pLog value of 75.66 versus the Synechocystis sp. sequence. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone rls48.pk0036.h10 is shown in SEQ ID NO:8; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:9. The nucleotide sequence of the contig assembled from clones se2.pk0005.f1.ses8w.pk0010.h11, sfl1.pk0031.h3, and sgs1c.pk002.k12 was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO:10; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:11. The amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:11 was evaluated by BLASTP, yielding a pLog value of 98.57 versus the Synechocystis sp. sequence. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone wlm24.pk0030.g4 is shown in SEQ ID NO:12; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:13. FIG. 3 presents an alignment of the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs:7, 9, 11, and 13 and the Synechocystis sp. sequence (SEQ ID NO:14). The data in Table 4 represents a calculation of the percent identity of the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 7, 9, 11, and 13 and the Synechocystis sp. sequence.

TABLE 4 Percent Identity of Amino Acid Sequences Deduced From the Nucleotide Sequences of cDNA Clones Encoding Polypeptides Homologous to Diaminopimelate Epimerase Percent Identity to DDBJ Accession No. D90917 (SEQ Clone SEQ ID NO. ID NO:16) chp2.pk0008.h4 7 59 rls48.pk0036.h10 9 74 Contig of: 11 72 se2.pk0005.f1 ses8w.pk0010.h11 sfl1.pk0031.h3 sgs1c.pk002.k12 wlm24.pk0030.g4 13 65

Sequence alignments were performed by the Clustal method of alignment (Higgins, D. G. and Sharp, P. M. (1989) CABIOS 5:151-153), using the Megalign program of the LASARGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.). Sequence percent identity calculations were performed by the Jotun Hein method (Hein. J. J. (1990) Meth. Enz. 183:626-645) using the Megalign program of the LASARGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.).

Sequence alignments and BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode a nearly entire corn diaminopimelate epimerase (chp2.pk0008.h4), a portion of a rice diaminopimelate epimerase (rls48.pk0036.h10), and an entire soybean diarninopimelate epimerase (se2.pk0005.f1, ses8w.pk0010.h11, sfl1.pk0031.h3, and sgs1c.pk002.k12), and a portion of a wheat diaminopimelate epimerase (wlm24.pk0030.g4). These sequences represent the first plant sequences encoding diaminopimelate epimerase enzyme.

Example 5 Characterization of cDNA Clones Encoding Threonine Synthase

The BLASTX search using the EST sequences from clones cc2.pk0031.c9, csl.pk0058.g5, rls72.pk0018.e7, sel.06a03, sr1.pk0003.f6, and wr1.pk0085.h2 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to threonine synthase from Arabidopsis thaliana (GenBank Accession No. L41666). The BLAST results for each of these ESTs are shown in Table 5:

TABLE 5 BLAST Results for Clones Encoding Polypeptides Homologous to Threonine Synthase BLAST pLog Score Clone L41666 cc2.pk0031.c9 56.19 cs1.pk0058.g5 8.00 rls72.pk0018.e7 29.47 se1.06a03 34.15 sr1.pk0003.f6 21.13 wr1.pk0085.h2 29.47

The sequence of the entire cDNA insert in clone cc2.pk0031.c9 was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO:15; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 16. The amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:16 was evaluated by BLASTP, yielding a pLog value of 166.11 versus the Arabidopsis thaliana sequence. BLASTN against dbest indicated identity of nucleotides 520 through 684 from cc2.pk0031.c9 with nucleotides 1 through 162 of a corn EST (GenBank Accession No. T18847). The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone cs1.pk0058.g5 is shown in SEQ ID NO:17; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:18. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone rls72.pk0018.e7 is shown in SEQ ID NO:19; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:20. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone se 1.06a03 is shown in SEQ ID NO:21; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:22. The sequence of the entire cDNA insert in clone sr1.pk0003.f6 was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO:23; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:24. The amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:24 was evaluated by BLASTP, yielding a pLog value of 275.06 versus the Arabidopsis thaliana sequence. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone wr1.pk0085.h2 is shown in SEQ ID NO:25; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:26. FIG. 4 presents an alignment of the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs:16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 and the Arabidopsis thaliana sequence. The data in Table 6 represents a calculation of the percent identity of the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs:16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 and the Arabidopsis thaliana sequence (SEQ ID NO:27).

TABLE 6 Percent Identity of Amino Acid Sequences Deduced From the Nucleotide Sequences of cDNA Clones Encoding Polypeptides Homologous to Threonine Synthase Percent Identity to Clone SEQ ID NO. L41666 (SEQ ID NO:29) cc2.pk0031.c9 16 81.0 cs1.pk0058.g5 18 81.0 rls72.pk0018.e7 20 55.3 se1.06a03 22 80.0 sr1.pk0003.f6 24 84.4 wr1.pk0085.h2 26 50.4

Sequence alignments were performed by the Clustal method of alignment (Higgins, D. G. and Sharp, P. M. (1989) CABIOS 5:151-153), using the Megalign program of the LASARGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.). Sequence percent identity calculations were performed by the Jotun Hein method (Hein. J. J. (1990) Meth. Enz. 183:626-645) using the Megalign program of the LASARGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc. Madison, Wis.).

Sequence alignments and BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of a corn threonine synthase (cc2.pk0031.c9 and cs1.pk0058.g5), a portion of a rice threonine synthase (rls72.pk0018.e7), portions of a soybean threonine synthase (se1.06a03 and sr1.pk0003.f6), and a portion of a wheat threonine synthase (wr1.pk0085.h2). These sequences represent the first corn, rice, soybean, and wheat sequences encoding threonine synthase.

Example 6 Characterization of cDNA Clones Encodine Threonine Deaminase

The BLASTX search using the EST sequence from clone cen1.pk0064.f4 revealed similarity of the protein encoded by the cDNA to threonine deaminase from Brukholderia capacia (GenBank Accession No. U40630; pLog=31.38). The BLASTX search using the EST sequences from clones sfll.pk0055.h7 and sre.pk0044.f3 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to threonine deaminase from Solanum luberosum and Brukholderia capacia (EMBL Accession No. X67846 and GenBank Accession No. U40630, respectively). BLAST pLog values were 36.55 and 31.79 for sfl1.pk0055.h7, and 19.47 and 14.51 for sre.pk0044.f3.

The sequence of the entire cDNA insert in clone cen1.pk0064.f4 was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO:28; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:29. The amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:29 was evaluated by BLASTP, yielding a pLog value of 134.85 versus the Brukholderia capacia sequence. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone sfl1.pk0055.h7 is shown in SEQ ID NO:30; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:31. The sequence of the entire cDNA insert in clone sre.pk0044.f3 was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO:32; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:33. The amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:33 was evaluated by BLASTP, yielding pLog values of 19.24 versus the Solanum tuberosum sequence and 15.19 versus the Brukholderia capacia threonine deaminase sequence. FIG. 5 presents an alignment of the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs:29, 31, and 33 and the Brukholderia capacia (SEQ ID NO:34) sequence. The data in Table 7 represents a calculation of the percent identity of the amino acid sequences set forth in SEQ ID NOs:29, 31, and 33 and the Brukholderia capacia sequence.

TABLE 7 Percent Identity of Amino Acid Sequences Deduced From the Nucleotide Sequences of cDNA Clones Encoding Polypeptides Homologous to Threonine Deaminase Percent Identity to Clone SEQ ID NO. U40630 (SEQ ID NO:36) cen1.pk0064.f4 29 61.0 sfl1.pk0055.h7 31 47.9 sre.pk0044.f3 33 46.0

Sequence alignments were performed by the Clustal method of alignment (Higgins, D. G. and Sharp, P. M. (1989) CABIOS 5:151-153), using the Megalign program of the LASARGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc. Madison, Wis.). Sequence percent identity calculations were performed by the Jotun Hein method (Hein. J. J. (1990) Meth. Enz. 183:626-645) using the Megalign program of the LASARGENE bioinformatics computing suite (DNASTAR Inc., Madison, Wis.)

Sequence alignments and BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode a nearly entire corn threonine deaminase (cen1.pk0064.f4) and portions of a soybean threonine deaminase (sfl1.pk0055.h7 and sre.pk0044.f3). These sequences represent the first corn and soybean sequences encoding threonine deaminase.

Example 7 Characterization of cDNA Clones Encoding S-adenosylmethionine Synthetase

The BLASTX search using the nucleotide sequence from clone cc3.mn0002.d2 revealed similarity of the protein encoded by the cDNA to S-adenosylmethionine synthetase from Oryza sativa (EMBL Accession No. Z26867; pLog=99.03). The sequence of the entire cDNA insert in clone cc3.mn0002.d2 was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO:35; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:36. The nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:35 was evaluated by BLASTN, yielding a pLog value larger than 200 versus the Oryza sativa sequence. FIG. 6 presents an alignment of the nucleotide sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO:35 and the Oryza sativa sequence (SEQ ID NO:37). The nucleotide sequence in SEQ ID NO:35 is 88% identical over 1216 nucleotides to the nucleotide sequence of the Oryza sativa S-adenosylmethionine synthetase.

The BLASTX search using the nucleotide sequence from clone s2.12b06 revealed similarity of the protein encoded by the cDNA to S-adenosylmethionine synthetase from Lycopersicon esculentum (EMBL Accession No. Z24741; pLog=62.62). The sequence of the entire cDNA insert in clone s2.12b06 was determined and is shown in SEQ ID NO:38; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:39. The nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:38 was evaluated by BLASTN, yielding a pLog value larger than 200 versus the Lycopersicon esculentum sequence. FIG. 7 presents an alignment of the nucleotide sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO:38 and the Lycopersicon esculentum sequence (SEQ ID NO:40). The nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:38 is 82% identical over 1210 nucleotides to the Lycopersicon esculentum sequence.

The BLASTX search using the nucleotide sequence from the contig assembled from clones wre1.pk0002.c12, wle1n.pk0070.b8, wkm1c.pk0003.g4, wlk1.pk0028. d3, wre1n.pk170.d8, wr1.pk0086.d5, wr1.pk0103.h8, and wre1n.pk0082.b2 revealed similarity of the protein encoded by the contig to S-adenosylmethionine synthetase from Hordeum vulgare (DDBJ Accession No. D63835) with a pLog value larger than 200. The nucleotide sequence of the contig assembled from clones wre1.pk0002.c12, wle1n.pk0070.b8, wkm1c.pk0003.g4, wlk1.pk0028.d3, wre1n.pk170.d8, wr1.pk0086.d5, wr1.pk0103.h8, and wre1n.pk0082.b2 is shown in SEQ ID NO:41; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO:42. FIG. 8 presents an alignment of the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:41 and the Hordeum vulgare sequence (SEQ ID NO:43). The SEQ ID NO:41 is 92% identical to the Hordeum vulgare sequence.

Sequence alignments and BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode entire or nearly entire corn, soybean, or wheat S-adenosyl-methionine synthetase. These sequences represent the first corn, soybean, or wheat sequences encoding S-adenosylmethionine synthetase.

Example 8 Expression of Chimeric Genes in Monocot Cells

A chimeric gene comprising a cDNA encoding an amino acid biosynthetic enzyme in sense orientation with respect to the maize 27 kD zein promoter that is located 5′ to the cDNA fragment, and the 10 kD zein 3′ end that is located 3′ to the cDNA fragment, can be constructed. The cDNA fragment of this gene may be generated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the cDNA clone using appropriate oligonucleotide primers and under appropriate experimental conditions. Cloning sites (NcoI or SmaI) can be incorporated into the oligonucleotides to provide proper orientation of the DNA fragment when inserted into the digested vector pML 103 as described below. The amplified DNA can then be digested with restriction enzymes NcoI and Smal and fractionated on a 0.7% low melting point agarose gel in 40 mM Tris-acetate, pH 8.5, 1 mM EDTA. The appropriate band can be excised from the gel, melted at 68° C. and combined with a 4.9 kb NcoI-Smal fragment of the plasmid pML 103. Plasmid pML 103 has been deposited under the terms of the Budapest Treaty at ATCC (American Type Culture Collection, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va. 20110-2209), and bears accession number ATCC 97366. The DNA segment from pML 103 contains a 1.05 kb Sall-NcoI promoter fragment of the maize 27 kD zein gene and a 0.96 kb Smal-SalI fragment from the 3′ end of the maize 10 kD zein gene in the vector pGem9Zf(+) (Promega). Vector and insert DNA can be ligated at 15° C. overnight, essentially as described (Maniatis). The ligated DNA may then be used to transform E. coli XL1-Blue (Epicurian Coli XL-1 Blue™; Stratagene). Bacterial transformants can be screened by restriction enzyme digestion of plasmid DNA and limited nucleotide sequence analysis using the dideoxy chain termination method (Sequenase™ DNA Sequencing Kit; U.S. Biochemical). The resulting plasmid construct would comprise a chimeric gene encoding, in the 5′ to 3′ direction, the maize 27 kD zein promoter, a cDNA fragment encoding a plant amino acid biosvnthetic enzyme, and the 10 kD zein 3′ region.

The chimeric gene described above can then be introduced into corn cells by the following procedure. Immature corn embryos can be dissected from developing caryopses derived from crosses of the inbred corn lines H99 and LH132. The embryos are isolated 10 to 11 days after pollination when they are 1.0 to 1.5 mm long. The embryos are then placed with the axis-side facing down and in contact with agarose-solidified N6 medium (Chu et al., (1975) Sci. Sin. Peking 18:659-668). The embryos are kept in the dark at 27° C. Friable embryogenic callus consisting of undifferentiated masses of cells with somatic proembryoids and embryoids borne on suspensor structures proliferates from the scutellum of these immature embryos. The embryogenic callus isolated from the primary explant can be cultured on N6 medium and sub-cultured on this medium every 2 to 3 weeks.

The plasmid, p35S/Ac (obtained from Dr. Peter Eckes, Hoechst Ag, Frankfurt, Germany) may be used in transformation experiments in order to provide for a selectable marker. This plasmid contains the Pat gene (see European Patent Publication 0 242 236) which encodes phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (PAT). The enzyme PAT confers resistance to herbicidal glutamine synthetase inhibitors such as phosphinothricin. The pat gene in p35S/Ac is under the control of the 35S promoter from Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (Odell et al. (1985) Nature 313:810-812) and the 3′ region of the nopaline synthase gene from the T-DNA of the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

The particle bombardment method (Klein et al., (1987) Nature 327:70-73) may be used to transfer genes to the callus culture cells. According to this method, gold particles (1 μm in diameter) are coated with DNA using the following technique. Ten μg of plasmid DNAs are added to 50 μL of a suspension of gold particles (60 mg per mL). Calcium chloride (50 μL of a 2.5 M solution) and spermidine free base (20 μL of a 1.0 M solution) are added to the particles. The suspension is vortexed during the addition of these solutions. After 10 minutes, the tubes are briefly centrifuged (5 sec at 15,000 rpm) and the supernatant removed. The particles are resuspended in 200 μL of absolute ethanol, centrifuged again and the supernatant removed. The ethanol rinse is performed again and the particles resuspended in a final volume of 30 μL of ethanol. An aliquot (5 μL) of the DNA-coated gold particles can be placed in the center of a Kapton™ flying disc (Bio-Rad Labs). The particles are then accelerated into the corn tissue with a Biolistic™ PDS-1000/He (Bio-Rad Instruments, Hercules Calif.), using a helium pressure of 1000 psi, a gap distance of 0.5 cm and a flying distance of 1.0 cm.

For bombardment, the embryogenic tissue is placed on filter paper over agarose-solidified N6 medium. The tissue is arranged as a thin lawn and covered a circular area of about 5 cm in diameter. The petri dish containing the tissue can be placed in the chamber of the PDS-1000/He approximately 8 cm from the stopping screen. The air in the chamber is then evacuated to a vacuum of 28 inches of Hg. The macrocarrier is accelerated with a helium shock wave using a rupture membrane that bursts when the He pressure in the shock tube reaches 1000 psi.

Seven days after bombardment the tissue can be transferred to N6 medium that contains gluphosinate (2 mg per liter) and lacks casein or proline. The tissue continues to grow slowly on this medium. After an additional 2 weeks the tissue can be transferred to fresh N6 medium containing gluphosinate. After 6 weeks, areas of about 1 cm in diameter of actively growing callus can be identified on some of the plates containing the glufosinate-supplemented medium. These calli may continue to grow when sub-cultured on the selective medium.

Plants can be regenerated from the transgenic callus by first transferring clusters of tissue to N6 medium supplemented with 0.2 mg per liter of 2,4-D. After two weeks the tissue can be transferred to regeneration medium (Fromm et al., (1990) Bio/Technology 8:833-839).

Example 9 Expression of Chimeric Genes in Dicot Cells

A seed-specific expression cassette composed of the promoter and transcription terminator from the gene encoding the β subunit of the seed storage protein phaseolin from the bean Phaseolus vulgaris (Doyle et al. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261:9228-9238) can be used for expression of the instant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes in transformed soybean. The phaseolin cassette includes about 500 nucleotides upstream (5′) from the translation initiation codon and about 1650 nucleotides downstream (3′) from the translation stop codon of phaseolin. Between the 5′ and 3′ regions are the unique restriction endonuclease sites Nco I (which includes the ATG translation initiation codon), Sma I, Kpn I and Xba I. The entire cassette is flanked by Hind III sites.

The cDNA fragment of this gene may be generated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the cDNA clone using appropriate oligonucleotide primers. Cloning sites can be incorporated into the oligonucleotides to provide proper orientation of the DNA fragment when inserted into the expression vector. Amplification is then performed, and the isolated fragment is inserted into a pUC18 vector carrying the seed expression cassette. Plant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes are known to be localized in the chloroplasts. Accordingly, for those enzymes (or polypeptides representing part of the instant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes) that lack a chloroplast targeting signal, the DNA fragment to be inserted into the expression vector can be synthesized by PCR with primers encoding a chloroplast targeting signal. For example, a chloroplast transit sequence equivalent to the cts of the small subunit of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase from soybean (Berry-Lowe et al. (1982) J. Mol. Appl. Genet. 1:483-498) may be used.

Soybean embroys may then be transformed with the expression vector comprising sequences encoding a plant amino acid biosynthetic enzyme. To induce somatic embryos, cotyledons, 3-5 mm in length dissected from surface sterilized, immature seeds of the soybean cultivar A2872, can be cultured in the light or dark at 26° C. on an appropriate agar medium for 6-10 weeks. Somatic embryos which produce secondary embryos are then excised and placed into a suitable liquid medium. After repeated selection for clusters of somatic embryos which multiplied as early, globular staged embryos, the suspensions are maintained as described below.

Soybean embryogenic suspension cultures can maintained in 35 mL liquid media on a rotary shaker, 150 rpm, at 26° C. with florescent lights on a 16:8 hour day/night schedule. Cultures are subcultured every two weeks by inoculating approximately 35 mg of tissue into 35 mL of liquid medium.

Soybean embryogenic suspension cultures may then be transformed by the method of particle gun bombardment (Kline et al. (1987) Nature (London) 327.70, U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,050). A Du Pont Biolistic™ PDS1000/HE instrument (helium retrofit) can be used for these transformations.

A selectable marker gene which can be used to facilitate soybean transformation is a chimeric gene composed of the 35S promoter from Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (Odell et al.(1985) Nature 313:810-812), the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene from plasmid pJR225 (from E. coli; Gritz et al.(1983) Gene 25:179-188) and the 3′ region of the nopaline synthase gene from the T-DNA of the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium lumefaciens. The seed expression cassette comprising the phaseolin 5′ region, the fragment encoding the biosynthetic enzyme and the phaseolin 3′ region can be isolated as a restriction fragment. This fragment can then be inserted into a unique restriction site of the vector carrying the marker gene.

To 50 μL of a 60 mg/mL 1 μm gold particle suspension is added (in order): 5 μL DNA (1 μg/μL), 20 μl sperrnidine (0.1 M), and 50 μL CaCl₂ (2.5 M). The particle preparation is then agitated for three minutes, spun in a microfuge for 10 seconds and the supernatant removed. The DNA-coated particles are then washed once in 400 μL 70% ethanol and resuspended in 40 μL of anhydrous ethanol. The DNA/particle suspension can be sonicated three times for one second each. Five μL of the DNA-coated gold particles are then loaded on each macro carrier disk.

Approximately 300-400 mg of a two-week-old suspension culture is placed in an empty 60×15 mm petri dish and the residual liquid removed from the tissue with a pipette. For each transformation experiment, approximately 5-10 plates of tissue are normally bombarded. Membrane rupture pressure is set at 1100 psi and the chamber is evacuated to a vacuum of 28 inches mercury. The tissue is placed approximately 3.5 inches away from the retaining screen and bombarded three times. Following bombardment, the tissue can be divided in half and placed back into liquid and cultured as described above.

Five to seven days post bombardment, the liquid media may be exchanged with fresh media, and eleven to twelve days post bombardment with fresh media containing 50 mg/mL hygromycin. This selective media can be refreshed weekly. Seven to eight weeks post bombardment, green, transformed tissue may be observed growing from untransformed, necrotic embryogenic clusters. Isolated green tissue is removed and inoculated into individual flasks to generate new, clonally propagated, transformed embryogenic suspension cultures. Each new line may be treated as an independent transformation event. These suspensions can then be subcultured and maintained as clusters of immature embryos or regenerated into whole plants by maturation and germination of individual somatic embryos.

Example 10 Analysis of Amino Acid Content of the Seeds of Transformed Plants

To analyze for expression of the chimeric genes in seeds and for the consequences of expression on the amino acid content in the seeds, a seed meal can be prepared by any of a number of suitable methods known to those skilled in the art. The seed meal can be partially or completely defatted, via hexane extraction for example, if desired. Protein extracts can be prepared from the meal and analyzed for enzyme activity. Alternatively the presence of any of the expressed enzymes can be tested for immunologically by methods well-known to those skilled in the art. To measure free amino acid composition of the seeds, free amino acids can be extracted from the meal and analyzed by methods known to those skilled in the art (Bieleski et al. (1966) Anal. Biochem. 17:278-293). Amino acid composition can then be determined using any commercially available amino acid analyzer. To measure total amino acid composition of the seeds, meal containing both protein-bound and free amino acids can be acid hydrolyzed to release the protein-bound amino acids and the composition can then be determined using any commercially available amino acid analyzer. Seeds expressing the instant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes and with altered lysine, threonine, methionine, cysteine and/or isoleucine content as compared to the wild type seeds can thus be identified and propagated.

To measure free amino acid composition of the seeds, free amino acids can be extracted from 8-10 milligrams of the seed meal in 1.0 mL of methanol/chloroform/water mixed in ratio of 12v/5v/3v (MCW) at room temperature. The mixture can be vortexed and then centrifuged in an eppendorf microcentrifuge for about 3 min; approximately 0.8 mL of supernatant is then decanted. To this supernatant, 0.2 mL of chloroform is added followed by 0.3 mL of water. The mixture is then vortexed and centrifuged in an eppendorf microcentrifuge for about 3 min. The upper aqueous phase, approximately 1.0 mL, can then be removed and dried down in a Savant Speed Vac Concentrator. The samples are then hydrolyzed in 6N hydrochloric acid, 0.4% β-mercaptoethanol under nitrogen for 24 h at 110-120° C. Ten percent of the sample can then be analyzed using a Beckman Model 6300 amino acid analyzer using post-column ninhydrin detection. Relative free amino acid levels in the seeds are then compared as ratios of lysine, threonine, methionine, cysteine and/or isoleucine to leucine, thus using leucine as an internal standard.

Example 11 Expression of Chimeric Genes in Microbial Cells

The cDNAs encoding the instant plant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes can be inserted into the T7 E. coli expression vector pET24d (Novagen). Plasmid DNA containing a cDNA may be appropriately digested to release a nucleic acid fragment encoding the enzyme. This fragment may then be purified on a 1% NuSieve GTG™ low melting agarose gel (FMC). Buffer and agarose contain 10 μg/ml ethidium bromide for visualization of the DNA fragment. The fragment can then be purified from the agarose gel by digestion with GELase™ (Epicentre Technologies) according to the manufacturer's instructions, ethanol precipitated, dried and resuspended in 20 μL of water. Appropriate oligonucleotide adapters may be ligated to the fragment using T4 DNA ligase (New England Biolabs, Beverly, Mass.).

The fragment containing the ligated adapters can be purified from the excess adapters using low melting agarose as described above. The vector pET24d is digested, dephosphorylated with alkaline phosphatase (NEB) and deproteinized with phenol/chloroform as described above. The prepared vector pET24d and fragment can then be ligated at 16° C. for 15 hours followed by transformation into DH5 electrocompetent cells (GIBCO BRL). Transformants can be selected on agar plates containing 2×YT media and 50 μg/mL kanamycin. Transformants containing gene enconding the enzyme are then screened for the correct orientation with respect to pET24d T7 promoter by restriction enzyme analysis.

Clones in the correct orientation with respect to the T7 promoter can be transformed into BL21(DE3) competent cells (Novagen) and selected on 2×YT agar plates containing 50 μg/ml kanamycin. A colony arising from this transformation construct can be grown overnight at 30° C. in 2×YT media with 50 μg/mL kanamycin. The culture is then diluted two fold with fresh media, allowed to re-grow for 1 h, and induced by adding isopropyl-thiogalactopyranoside to 1 mM final concentration. Cells are then harvested by centrifugation after 3 h and re-suspended in 50 μL of 50 mM Tris-HC1 at pH 8.0 containing 0.1 mM DTT and 0.2 mM phenyl methylsulfonyl fluoride. A small amount of 1 mm glass beads can be added and the mixture sonicated 3 times for about 5 seconds each time with a microprobe sonicator. The mixture is centrifuged and the protein concentration of the supernatant determined. One μg of protein from the soluble fraction of the culture can be separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Gels can be observed for protein bands migrating at the expected molecular weight.

Example 12 Evaluatin Compounds for Their Ability to Inhibit the Activity of a Plant Amino Acid Biosvnthetic Enzyme

The plant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes described herein may be produced using any number of methods known to those skilled in the art. Such methods include, but are not limited to, expression in bacteria as described in Example 6, or expression in eukaryotic cell culture, in planta, and using viral expression systems in suitably infected organisms or cell lines. The instant enzymes may be expressed separately as mature proteins, or may be co-expressed in E. coli or another suitable expression background. In addition, whether expressed separately or in combination. the instant enzymes may be expressed either as mature forms of the proteins as observed in vivo or as fusion proteins by covalent attachment to a variety of enzymes, proteins or affinity tags. Common fusion protein partners include glutathione S-transferase (“GST”), thioredoxin (“Trx”), maltose binding protein, and C- and/or N-terminal hexahistidine polypeptide (“(His)₆”). The fusion proteins may be engineered with a protease recognition site at the fusion point so that fusion partners can be separated by protease digestion to yield intact mature enzymes. Examples of such proteases include thrombin, enterokinase and factor Xa. However, any protease can be used which specifically cleaves the peptide connecting the fusion protein and the biosynthetic enzyme.

Purification of the instant enzymes, if desired, may utilize any number of separation technologies familiar to those skilled in the art of protein purification. Examples of such methods include, but are not limited to, homogenization, filtration, centrifugation, heat denaturation, ammonium sulfate precipitation, desalting, pH precipitation, ion exchange chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography and affinity chromatography, wherein the affinity ligand represents a substrate, substrate analog or inhibitor. When the enzymes are expressed as fusion proteins, the purification protocol may include the use of an affinity resin which is specific for the fusion protein tag attached to the expressed enzyme or an affinity resin containing ligands which are specific for the enzyme. For example, an enzyme may be expressed as a fusion protein coupled to the C-terminus of thioredoxin. In addition, a (His)₆ peptide may be engineered into the N-terminus of the fused thioredoxin moiety to afford additional opportunities for affinity purification. Other suitable affinity resins could be synthesized by linking the appropriate ligands to any suitable resin such as Sepharose-4B. In an alternate embodiment, a thioredoxin fusion protein may be eluted using dithiothreitol; however, elution may be accomplished using other reagents which interact to displace the thioredoxin from the resin. These reagents include β-mercaptoethanol or other reduced thiol. The eluted fusion protein may be subjected to further purification by traditional means as stated above, if desired. Proteolytic cleavage of the thioredoxin fusion protein and the biosynthetic enzyme may be accomplished after the fusion protein is purified or while the protein is still bound to the ThioBond™ affinity resin or other resin. Crude, partially purified or purified enzyme, either alone or as a fusion protein, may be utilized in assays for the evaluation of compounds for their ability to inhibit enzymatic activation of the plant amino acid biosynthetic enzymes disclosed herein. Assays may be conducted under well known experimental conditions which permit optimal enzymatic activity. Examples of assays for many of these enzymes can be found in Methods in Enzymology Vol. V, (Colowick and Kaplan eds.) Academic Press, New York or Methods in Enzymology Vol. XVII, (Tabor and Tabor eds.) Academic Press, New York. Specific examples may be found in the following references, each of which is incorporated herein by reference: dihydrodipicolinate reductase may be assayed as described in Farkas et al. (1965) J. Biol. Chem. 240: 4717-4722, or Cremer et al. (1988) J. Gen. Microbiol. 134:3221-3229; diaminopimelate epimerase may be assayed as described in Work (1962) in Methods in Enzymology Vol. V, (Colowick and Kaplan eds.) 858-864, Academic Press, New York; threonine synthase may be assayed as described in Giovanelli et al. (1984) Plant Physiol 76:285-292 or Curien et al. (1996) FEBS Lett. 390: 85-90; threonine deaminase may be assayed as described in Tomova et al. (1968) Biochemistry (USSR) 33:200-208 or Dougall (1970) Phytochemistry 9: 959-964; and S-adenosylmethionine synthetase may be assayed as described in Mudd (1960) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 38:354-355 or Boerjan et al. (1994) Plant Cell 6:1401-1414.

43 1 908 DNA Zea mays 1 acgcgggaca gataagtggc atggacgagc cgctggagat ccctgtgctg aacgacctca 60 ccatggttct gggctccata gcgcagtcga gagcaaccgg cgtggtggtc gacttcagcg 120 agccttcagc tgtttacgac aatgtcaagc aggcagcggc gtttggtctg agcagcgtcg 180 tctacgttcc gaaaatcgag ctagagacag tgactgaact gtcagcgttc tgcgagaagg 240 caagcggctg cttggttgcg ccaacgctgt cgattgggtc cgtgctcctt cagcaagcgg 300 ctatacaggc ctcgttccac tacagcaacg ttgagattgt ggaatcgaga ccaaacccat 360 cggatcttcc atcgcaagat gcaatccaga ttgcaaacaa catatcagac cttggtcaga 420 tatacaacag ggaagatatg gattccagca gtccagccag aggccagctg ctcggggaag 480 acggagtgcg cgtgcacagc atggttctcc ctggtctcgt ctccagcacg tcgatcaact 540 tctctggccc aggagagatg tacaccttac ggcatgacgt tgcgaatgtt cagtgcctga 600 tgccaggact gatcctggcg atacggaagg tggtgcggtt caagaacttg atttatgggc 660 tagagaagtt cttgtagtga acaacaaaca accaatgcaa aacatcgaca ggcaacaggc 720 aaggcagata tcatctgacg tcgcaacaac caaaacgaca gagatttgga aaataaaggc 780 tgcacagaag acgtctgggg ttttgtgtgc accaggctgc gcagagaacg tctgtcattt 840 tgtgtgcacc actacggcac tacctgctga gcgcgatttt tataaaaaag gcatgggagg 900 gagatcat 908 2 224 PRT Zea mays 2 Ala Gly Gln Ile Ser Gly Met Asp Glu Pro Leu Glu Ile Pro Val Leu 1 5 10 15 Asn Asp Leu Thr Met Val Leu Gly Ser Ile Ala Gln Ser Arg Ala Thr 20 25 30 Gly Val Val Val Asp Phe Ser Glu Pro Ser Ala Val Tyr Asp Asn Val 35 40 45 Lys Gln Ala Ala Ala Phe Gly Leu Ser Ser Val Val Tyr Val Pro Lys 50 55 60 Ile Glu Leu Glu Thr Val Thr Glu Leu Ser Ala Phe Cys Glu Lys Ala 65 70 75 80 Ser Gly Cys Leu Val Ala Pro Thr Leu Ser Ile Gly Ser Val Leu Leu 85 90 95 Gln Gln Ala Ala Ile Gln Ala Ser Phe His Tyr Ser Asn Val Glu Ile 100 105 110 Val Glu Ser Arg Pro Asn Pro Ser Asp Leu Pro Ser Gln Asp Ala Ile 115 120 125 Gln Ile Ala Asn Asn Ile Ser Asp Leu Gly Gln Ile Tyr Asn Arg Glu 130 135 140 Asp Met Asp Ser Ser Ser Pro Ala Arg Gly Gln Leu Leu Gly Glu Asp 145 150 155 160 Gly Val Arg Val His Ser Met Val Leu Pro Gly Leu Val Ser Ser Thr 165 170 175 Ser Ile Asn Phe Ser Gly Pro Gly Glu Met Tyr Thr Leu Arg His Asp 180 185 190 Val Ala Asn Val Gln Cys Leu Met Pro Gly Leu Ile Leu Ala Ile Arg 195 200 205 Lys Val Val Arg Phe Lys Asn Leu Ile Tyr Gly Leu Glu Lys Phe Leu 210 215 220 3 339 DNA Oryza sativa 3 aagattggca ggagaaatgc agcaaaggtc ctctgctcaa cgcagatgcc gccatctcag 60 agcacaatca aggttgttat cattggggcg acaaaagaga ttggaagaac ggcaatagcg 120 gcagtaagta aagcaagggg aatggagctt gcaggggcca tagattctca gtgtataggc 180 ctagatgcag gagagataag tggcatggga agaaccctgg aaattccggt gctcaatgat 240 ctcacaatgg ttctgggctc aattgcacaa accagagcaa ctggagtggt ggttgatttt 300 agtgaacctt caactgttta tgataatgtc aaacaggca 339 4 113 PRT Oryza sativa 4 Lys Ile Gly Arg Arg Asn Ala Ala Lys Val Leu Cys Ser Thr Gln Met 1 5 10 15 Pro Pro Ser Gln Ser Thr Ile Lys Val Val Ile Ile Gly Ala Thr Lys 20 25 30 Glu Ile Gly Arg Thr Ala Ile Ala Ala Val Ser Lys Ala Arg Gly Met 35 40 45 Glu Leu Ala Gly Ala Ile Asp Ser Gln Cys Ile Gly Leu Asp Ala Gly 50 55 60 Glu Ile Ser Gly Met Gly Arg Thr Leu Glu Ile Pro Val Leu Asn Asp 65 70 75 80 Leu Thr Met Val Leu Gly Ser Ile Ala Gln Thr Arg Ala Thr Gly Val 85 90 95 Val Val Asp Phe Ser Glu Pro Ser Thr Val Tyr Asp Asn Val Lys Gln 100 105 110 Ala 5 275 PRT Synechocystus sp 5 Met Ala Asn Gln Asp Leu Ile Pro Val Val Val Asn Gly Ala Ala Gly 1 5 10 15 Lys Met Gly Arg Glu Val Ile Lys Ala Val Ala Gln Ala Pro Asp Leu 20 25 30 Gln Leu Val Gly Ala Val Asp His Asn Pro Ser Leu Gln Gly Gln Asp 35 40 45 Ile Gly Glu Val Val Gly Ile Ala Pro Leu Glu Val Pro Val Leu Ala 50 55 60 Asp Leu Gln Ser Val Leu Val Leu Ala Thr Gln Glu Lys Ile Gln Gly 65 70 75 80 Val Met Val Asp Phe Thr His Pro Ser Gly Val Tyr Asp Asn Val Arg 85 90 95 Ser Ala Ile Ala Tyr Gly Val Arg Pro Val Val Gly Thr Thr Gly Leu 100 105 110 Ser Glu Gln Gln Ile Gln Asp Leu Gly Asp Phe Ala Glu Lys Ala Ser 115 120 125 Thr Gly Cys Leu Ile Ala Pro Asn Phe Ala Ile Gly Val Leu Leu Met 130 135 140 Gln Gln Ala Ala Val Gln Ala Cys Gln Tyr Phe Asp His Val Glu Ile 145 150 155 160 Ile Glu Leu His His Asn Gln Lys Ala Asp Ala Pro Ser Gly Thr Ala 165 170 175 Ile Lys Thr Ala Gln Met Leu Ala Glu Met Gly Lys Thr Phe Asn Pro 180 185 190 Pro Ala Val Glu Glu Lys Glu Thr Ile Ala Gly Ala Lys Gly Gly Leu 195 200 205 Gly Pro Gly Gln Ile Pro Ile His Ser Ile Arg Leu Pro Gly Leu Ile 210 215 220 Ala His Gln Glu Val Leu Phe Gly Ser Pro Gly Gln Leu Tyr Thr Ile 225 230 235 240 Arg His Asp Thr Thr Asp Arg Ala Cys Tyr Met Pro Gly Val Leu Leu 245 250 255 Gly Ile Arg Lys Val Val Glu Leu Lys Gly Leu Val Tyr Gly Leu Glu 260 265 270 Lys Leu Leu 275 6 1012 DNA Zea mays 6 tattgccaga gatgtgtggt aatggagtcc gttgcttcgc tcggtttata gccgagattg 60 aaaatctgca ggggacaaat agattcacta ttcatactgg tgctggaaag atcgttcctg 120 aaatacaaag tgatgggcag gtaaaggttg atatgggcga gcctatcctt tctggactag 180 acatccccac aaaactgcta gctaccaaga acaaagctgt tgttcaagct gaattggcag 240 ttgagggctt aacatggcat gtcacatgtg ttagcatggg aaaccctcac tgtgtcacat 300 ttggtgcaaa tgagttaaag gtattgcagg tcgacgattt aaaacttagc gaaattgggc 360 ctaaatttga gcatcatgaa atgtttcctg ctcgcacaaa cacagaattc gtacaggttt 420 tgtctcgctc acacctcaaa atgcgggtct gggaacgtgg tgctggagca actcttgcct 480 gtggtactgg tgcttgtgca gtggttgttg cagctgttct tgagggtcga gctgagcgga 540 aatgtgtagt tgatttgcct ggcgggccat tggaaattga gtggagggag gatgacaatc 600 atgtttacat gactggtcct gcagaggtcg tcttttatgg atctgttgtt cactaggtac 660 tggggaccaa gatagaaggg ttggctgcca ctcagagctt gtgagattgg ttatagtatc 720 catgaaacag agtgttctgg taccagtaca cttgttcaga tattcttaat tatgattgct 780 tgatttgggt agcmgtagag gcttcctttt gaagcattct agtgttcmcc ttttgtactc 840 ctttagtttg tcaggtttga acactacatg ggtaacatgt cyttcccacc attttcygtt 900 tcttttcttt gtaagtgaac gccaatgcag ttttagtatt gttttctata gatttgtctt 960 gatgcactgg gcttactact tattttctgg tatgaatgct gcctatttcc tg 1012 7 217 PRT Zea mays 7 Leu Pro Glu Met Cys Gly Asn Gly Val Arg Cys Phe Ala Arg Phe Ile 1 5 10 15 Ala Glu Ile Glu Asn Leu Gln Gly Thr Asn Arg Phe Thr Ile His Thr 20 25 30 Gly Ala Gly Lys Ile Val Pro Glu Ile Gln Ser Asp Gly Gln Val Lys 35 40 45 Val Asp Met Gly Glu Pro Ile Leu Ser Gly Leu Asp Ile Pro Thr Lys 50 55 60 Leu Leu Ala Thr Lys Asn Lys Ala Val Val Gln Ala Glu Leu Ala Val 65 70 75 80 Glu Gly Leu Thr Trp His Val Thr Cys Val Ser Met Gly Asn Pro His 85 90 95 Cys Val Thr Phe Gly Ala Asn Glu Leu Lys Val Leu Gln Val Asp Asp 100 105 110 Leu Lys Leu Ser Glu Ile Gly Pro Lys Phe Glu His His Glu Met Phe 115 120 125 Pro Ala Arg Thr Asn Thr Glu Phe Val Gln Val Leu Ser Arg Ser His 130 135 140 Leu Lys Met Arg Val Trp Glu Arg Gly Ala Gly Ala Thr Leu Ala Cys 145 150 155 160 Gly Thr Gly Ala Cys Ala Val Val Val Ala Ala Val Leu Glu Gly Arg 165 170 175 Ala Glu Arg Lys Cys Val Val Asp Leu Pro Gly Gly Pro Leu Glu Ile 180 185 190 Glu Trp Arg Glu Asp Asp Asn His Val Tyr Met Thr Gly Pro Ala Glu 195 200 205 Val Val Phe Tyr Gly Ser Val Val His 210 215 8 481 DNA Oryza sativa 8 tgtatccggc gccgacggtg tgatcttcgt catgccgggg gtcaatggcg cggactacac 60 catgaggatc ttcaactcgg acggcagtga gccggagatg tgtggcaatg gagtccgttg 120 ctttgcccgg tttatagctg agcttgaaaa cctacaggga acacatagct tcaaaattca 180 cactggcgct gggctaatca ttcctgaaat acaaaatgat ggcaaggtaa aggttgatat 240 gggccagccc attctctctg gaccagatat tccaacaaaa ctgccatcca ccaagaatga 300 agccgttgtc caagctgatt tgggcagttg atggctcaac atggcaagta acctgtgtta 360 gcatgggcaa tccacattgt gtcacatttg gcacaaagga gctcaaggtt ttgcatgttg 420 atgattaaag cttaatgata ttggggccta aattcagcat catgaaatgt tcctgcccca 480 c 481 9 85 PRT Oryza sativa 9 Val Ser Gly Ala Asp Gly Val Ile Phe Val Met Pro Gly Val Asn Gly 1 5 10 15 Ala Asp Tyr Thr Met Arg Ile Phe Asn Ser Asp Gly Ser Glu Pro Glu 20 25 30 Met Cys Gly Asn Gly Val Arg Cys Phe Ala Arg Phe Ile Ala Glu Leu 35 40 45 Glu Asn Leu Gln Gly Thr His Ser Phe Lys Ile His Thr Gly Ala Gly 50 55 60 Leu Ile Ile Pro Glu Ile Gln Asn Asp Gly Lys Val Lys Val Asp Met 65 70 75 80 Gly Gln Pro Ile Leu 85 10 1301 DNA Glycine max 10 atcccttatt aagcaggggt ttcgcggcgc gagacggtga cactggcaga gtggaatttc 60 cgccgccatt cgaagctaca gcgatggcca taaccgccac catttccgtt cccctcacat 120 cccccagtcg ccgcactctc acctccgtca atagcctctc tcccctttct acccgatcca 180 ctttgcccac accgcaacgc actttcaaat accctaattc gcgcctcgtc gtgtcttcca 240 tgagcaccga aacagccgtc aaaacttcat ccgcctcctt cctcaaccgc aaggagtccg 300 gcttcctcca tttcgccaag taccacggcc tcggaaacga cttcgttttg attgacaata 360 gagactcctc cgagcccaag atcagtgctg agaaagcggt gcaactgtgt gatcggaact 420 tcggcgttgg agctgacgga gttatctttg tcttgcctgg catcagtggc accgattata 480 ccatgaggat ttttaactct gatggtagtg agcctgagat gtgtggcaat ggagttcgat 540 gctttgccaa atttgtttct cagcttgaga atttacatgg gaggcatagt tttaccattc 600 atactggtgc tggtctgatt attcctgaag tcttggagga tggaaatgtc agagttgata 660 tgggggagcc agttcttaaa gccttggatg tgcctactaa attacctgca aataaggata 720 atgctgttgt taaatcacag ctagttgtag atggagttat ttggcatgtg acctgtgtta 780 gcatggggaa tccacactgt gtaactttca gtagagaagg aagccagaat ttgcttgttg 840 atgaattgaa gctagcagaa attgggccaa aatttgaaca tcatgaggtg ttccctgcac 900 gaactaacac agagtttgtg caagtattat ctaactctca cttgaaaatg cgtgtttggg 960 agcggggagc aggagcaacc ctagcctgtg gaactggagc ttgtgctact gttgttgcag 1020 cagttcttga gggtcgtgct gggaggaatt gcacggttga tctacctgga gggcctcttc 1080 agattgagtg gagggaggaa gataatcatg tttatatgac aggctcagcc gatgtagttt 1140 attatggttc tttgcccctt tgatatgttg cccccattgt taaacccaat atggaattag 1200 gaattggtga ataatatttg tatgagaggt ggactttctg cttgttccta atattttgcc 1260 acgtctttat aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa a 1301 11 359 PRT Glycine max 11 Met Ala Ile Thr Ala Thr Ile Ser Val Pro Leu Thr Ser Pro Ser Arg 1 5 10 15 Arg Thr Leu Thr Ser Val Asn Ser Leu Ser Pro Leu Ser Thr Arg Ser 20 25 30 Thr Leu Pro Thr Pro Gln Arg Thr Phe Lys Tyr Pro Asn Ser Arg Leu 35 40 45 Val Val Ser Ser Met Ser Thr Glu Thr Ala Val Lys Thr Ser Ser Ala 50 55 60 Ser Phe Leu Asn Arg Lys Glu Ser Gly Phe Leu His Phe Ala Lys Tyr 65 70 75 80 His Gly Leu Gly Asn Asp Phe Val Leu Ile Asp Asn Arg Asp Ser Ser 85 90 95 Glu Pro Lys Ile Ser Ala Glu Lys Ala Val Gln Leu Cys Asp Arg Asn 100 105 110 Phe Gly Val Gly Ala Asp Gly Val Ile Phe Val Leu Pro Gly Ile Ser 115 120 125 Gly Thr Asp Tyr Thr Met Arg Ile Phe Asn Ser Asp Gly Ser Glu Pro 130 135 140 Glu Met Cys Gly Asn Gly Val Arg Cys Phe Ala Lys Phe Val Ser Gln 145 150 155 160 Leu Glu Asn Leu His Gly Arg His Ser Phe Thr Ile His Thr Gly Ala 165 170 175 Gly Leu Ile Ile Pro Glu Val Leu Glu Asp Gly Asn Val Arg Val Asp 180 185 190 Met Gly Glu Pro Val Leu Lys Ala Leu Asp Val Pro Thr Lys Leu Pro 195 200 205 Ala Asn Lys Asp Asn Ala Val Val Lys Ser Gln Leu Val Val Asp Gly 210 215 220 Val Ile Trp His Val Thr Cys Val Ser Met Gly Asn Pro His Cys Val 225 230 235 240 Thr Phe Ser Arg Glu Gly Ser Gln Asn Leu Leu Val Asp Glu Leu Lys 245 250 255 Leu Ala Glu Ile Gly Pro Lys Phe Glu His His Glu Val Phe Pro Ala 260 265 270 Arg Thr Asn Thr Glu Phe Val Gln Val Leu Ser Asn Ser His Leu Lys 275 280 285 Met Arg Val Trp Glu Arg Gly Ala Gly Ala Thr Leu Ala Cys Gly Thr 290 295 300 Gly Ala Cys Ala Thr Val Val Ala Ala Val Leu Glu Gly Arg Ala Gly 305 310 315 320 Arg Asn Cys Thr Val Asp Leu Pro Gly Gly Pro Leu Gln Ile Glu Trp 325 330 335 Arg Glu Glu Asp Asn His Val Tyr Met Thr Gly Ser Ala Asp Val Val 340 345 350 Tyr Tyr Gly Ser Leu Pro Leu 355 12 602 DNA Triticum aestiva unsure (366)..(366) N = A, C, G or T 12 ctccaccgcc ccctcctcgg gcggtcgcct cctccgtccg ttctgtggga atccgcgccc 60 ccgccgcgcc gtcgcctcga tggccgtgtc cgctcccaag tcgccagccg ccgcctcgtt 120 cctcgagcgc cgcgagtccg agcgcgcgct ccacttcgtg aagtaccagg gcctcggcaa 180 cgacttcata atggtcgaca acagggattc ggccgtaccg aaggtgacac cggaggaggc 240 ggcgaagcta tgcgaccgaa actttgggta ttgggtgctg atggcgtcat cttcgtcctg 300 ccgggggtca acggcgcgga ctacactatg aggatattca actccgatgg cagcaaccgg 360 aatgtntggn atggattcgt tgcttgctcg ctttatacgg agttgaaatc tacanggaaa 420 catacttcaa aacaanaggg ggctggatta atatcctgaa atananacat gnaagttang 480 tnatatgggc aacaatctta tggcanattt canaaaatgc atcacaagat aacttntaaa 540 acgattgaat taggcaanag aantaccgtt ataggaaccc atgaancttg tnaaattaag 600 gt 602 13 80 PRT Triticum aestiva UNSURE (42)..(42) Xaa = any amino acid 13 Ala Leu His Phe Val Lys Tyr Gln Gly Leu Gly Asn Asp Phe Ile Met 1 5 10 15 Val Asp Asn Arg Asp Ser Ala Val Pro Lys Val Thr Pro Glu Glu Ala 20 25 30 Ala Lys Leu Cys Asp Arg Asn Phe Gly Xaa Gly Ala Asp Gly Val Ile 35 40 45 Phe Val Leu Pro Gly Val Asn Gly Ala Asp Tyr Thr Met Arg Ile Phe 50 55 60 Asn Ser Asp Gly Ser Asn Arg Asn Val Trp Xaa Gly Phe Val Ala Cys 65 70 75 80 14 279 PRT Synechocystus sp 14 Met Ala Leu Ser Phe Ser Lys Tyr His Gly Leu Gly Asn Asp Phe Ile 1 5 10 15 Leu Val Asp Asn Arg Gln Ser Thr Glu Pro Cys Leu Thr Pro Asp Gln 20 25 30 Ala Gln Gln Leu Cys Asp Arg His Phe Gly Ile Gly Ala Asp Gly Val 35 40 45 Ile Phe Ala Leu Pro Gly Gln Gly Gly Thr Asp Tyr Thr Met Arg Ile 50 55 60 Phe Asn Ser Asp Gly Ser Glu Pro Glu Met Cys Gly Asn Gly Ile Arg 65 70 75 80 Cys Leu Ala Lys Phe Leu Ala Asp Leu Glu Gly Val Glu Glu Lys Thr 85 90 95 Tyr Arg Ile His Thr Leu Ala Gly Val Ile Thr Pro Gln Leu Leu Ala 100 105 110 Asp Gly Gln Val Lys Val Asp Met Gly Glu Pro Gln Leu Leu Ala Glu 115 120 125 Leu Ile Pro Thr Thr Leu Ala Pro Ala Gly Glu Lys Val Val Asp Leu 130 135 140 Pro Leu Ala Val Ala Gly Gln Thr Trp Ala Val Thr Cys Val Ser Met 145 150 155 160 Gly Asn Pro His Cys Leu Thr Phe Val Asp Asp Val Asp Ser Leu Asn 165 170 175 Leu Thr Glu Ile Gly Pro Leu Phe Glu His His Pro Gln Phe Ser Gln 180 185 190 Arg Thr Asn Thr Glu Phe Ile Gln Val Leu Gly Ser Asp Arg Leu Lys 195 200 205 Met Arg Val Trp Glu Arg Gly Ala Gly Ile Thr Leu Ala Cys Gly Thr 210 215 220 Gly Ala Cys Ala Thr Val Val Ala Ala Val Leu Thr Gly Arg Gly Asp 225 230 235 240 Arg Arg Cys Thr Val Glu Leu Pro Gly Gly Asn Leu Glu Ile Glu Trp 245 250 255 Ser Ala Gln Asp Asn Arg Leu Tyr Met Thr Gly Pro Ala Gln Arg Val 260 265 270 Phe Ser Gly Gln Ala Glu Ile 275 15 1160 DNA Zea mays 15 gtcggctgcg cgtccacggg agacacctcc gccgcgctct cggcctactg cgcagccgcg 60 ggaatccccg ccatcgtgtt cctgccagcg gaccgcatct cgctgcagca gctcatccag 120 ccgatcgcca acggcgccac cgtgctctct ctagacactg attttgatgg ctgcatgcgg 180 ctcattcgcg aggtcactgc agagctgcca atctaccttg ccaattcgct caacccgctc 240 cgccttgagg ggcagaagac agcggccatc gagatattgc agcagttcaa ttggcaggtg 300 ccagattggg tcattgttcc aggaggcaat cttgggaata tctatgcatt ctacaagggg 360 tttgagatgt gccgcgttct tggacttgtt gatcgcgtgc cacggcttgt ctgcgcacag 420 gctgcaaatg caaatccatt gtaccggtac tacaagtcag gttggactga gtttgagcca 480 caaactgccg agactacatt tgcatctgcg atacagattg gtgatcctgt atctgttgac 540 cgtgcggtgg tcgcgctgaa ggccactgac ggtattgtgg aggaggctac agaggaggag 600 ctaatggatg caacggcgct tgctgaccgc actgggatgt ttgcttgccc acatactggg 660 gttgcacttg ctgctttgtt taagcttcag ggtcagcgta taattggccc taatgaccgc 720 actgtggttg ttagcacagc tcatgggctg aagttcacgc agtcaaagat tgactaccat 780 gacaaaaaca tcaaagacat ggtttgccag tatgctaatc caccgatcag tgtgaaggct 840 gactttggtt ctgtgatgga tgttctccag aaaaatctca atggtaagat ataaagttat 900 atgattaatt aaccctccaa actgtttttt tttgtttttt cgttccagga attttattcc 960 tgagtctttc aactttgttt ggtgaacatg gtatggtgct aaaatctaga cctaatacct 1020 tgtagtacta gttctggagg ctcttttggt tgtaggtcga agtggataga gctgttcctt 1080 gtactttatc tgtttcatgt aatatgaata ataaattatg gtctaaatat ttgaataaaa 1140 aatcgtttgg aatgacccac 1160 16 297 PRT Zea mays 16 Val Gly Cys Ala Ser Thr Gly Asp Thr Ser Ala Ala Leu Ser Ala Tyr 1 5 10 15 Cys Ala Ala Ala Gly Ile Pro Ala Ile Val Phe Leu Pro Ala Asp Arg 20 25 30 Ile Ser Leu Gln Gln Leu Ile Gln Pro Ile Ala Asn Gly Ala Thr Val 35 40 45 Leu Ser Leu Asp Thr Asp Phe Asp Gly Cys Met Arg Leu Ile Arg Glu 50 55 60 Val Thr Ala Glu Leu Pro Ile Tyr Leu Ala Asn Ser Leu Asn Pro Leu 65 70 75 80 Arg Leu Glu Gly Gln Lys Thr Ala Ala Ile Glu Ile Leu Gln Gln Phe 85 90 95 Asn Trp Gln Val Pro Asp Trp Val Ile Val Pro Gly Gly Asn Leu Gly 100 105 110 Asn Ile Tyr Ala Phe Tyr Lys Gly Phe Glu Met Cys Arg Val Leu Gly 115 120 125 Leu Val Asp Arg Val Pro Arg Leu Val Cys Ala Gln Ala Ala Asn Ala 130 135 140 Asn Pro Leu Tyr Arg Tyr Tyr Lys Ser Gly Trp Thr Glu Phe Glu Pro 145 150 155 160 Gln Thr Ala Glu Thr Thr Phe Ala Ser Ala Ile Gln Ile Gly Asp Pro 165 170 175 Val Ser Val Asp Arg Ala Val Val Ala Leu Lys Ala Thr Asp Gly Ile 180 185 190 Val Glu Glu Ala Thr Glu Glu Glu Leu Met Asp Ala Thr Ala Leu Ala 195 200 205 Asp Arg Thr Gly Met Phe Ala Cys Pro His Thr Gly Val Ala Leu Ala 210 215 220 Ala Leu Phe Lys Leu Gln Gly Gln Arg Ile Ile Gly Pro Asn Asp Arg 225 230 235 240 Thr Val Val Val Ser Thr Ala His Gly Leu Lys Phe Thr Gln Ser Lys 245 250 255 Ile Asp Tyr His Asp Lys Asn Ile Lys Asp Met Val Cys Gln Tyr Ala 260 265 270 Asn Pro Pro Ile Ser Val Lys Ala Asp Phe Gly Ser Val Met Asp Val 275 280 285 Leu Gln Lys Asn Leu Asn Gly Lys Ile 290 295 17 325 DNA Zea mays unsure (325)..(325) N = A, C, G or T 17 atggcttgca agtactccaa cccgcctgtg agcgtgaagg ctgactttgg cgccgtgatg 60 gatgtgctga agaagaggct caagggcaag ctctgagcgc ctgtgcctgg ctaatgcaat 120 caactgattg gaatgcagtg gtttcgtcgg tatcgggggg tcttttaggc ttcagaaatt 180 ctgtctgggt tagactattt gtttgtggag tttagcagga gaatggctat ctctcctgca 240 agactggcgc tctttcttgt gctacgaatg tgttaccatg gataataagt gtagtcgctg 300 tcggattgaa taatcaaaaa aaaan 325 18 31 PRT Zea mays 18 Met Ala Cys Lys Tyr Ser Asn Pro Pro Val Ser Val Lys Ala Asp Phe 1 5 10 15 Gly Ala Val Met Asp Val Leu Lys Lys Arg Leu Lys Gly Lys Leu 20 25 30 19 528 DNA Oryza sativa unsure (490)..(490) N = A, C, G or T 19 acacccaaca cgcagacttg acagattctg ctactacaaa tcctgcatat ttaacagcgc 60 tgcaactcga cgatggagaa cggtgctgca accaacgggg cgtcggagaa gtcgcactct 120 ccttcacaga cctacctctc cacaagggga gacgattatg ggctctcatt cgagaccgtc 180 gtcctcaaag gtcttgcggc tgacgggggt cttttcctgc ccgaggaagt gcccgcggca 240 accgagtggc aaagctggaa agacctgccc tacaccgagc ttgccgtcaa ggttctcagc 300 ttgtacatct cccccgccga ggtgccgacg gaagacctca gggcgctcgt cgagcgcagc 360 tactcgacct tccgatccaa ggaggttgtg ccgctggtga agctggagga caaccttcac 420 ctgctggagc tattccacgg ccccaactac tcgttcaagg actgcgcgct gcaattcctt 480 ggtaacctcn tcgagtactt ttgactcnca agaacaaggg aaaggagg 528 20 143 PRT Oryza sativa UNSURE (140)..(140) Xaa = any amino acid 20 Met Glu Asn Gly Ala Ala Thr Asn Gly Ala Ser Glu Lys Ser His Ser 1 5 10 15 Pro Ser Gln Thr Tyr Leu Ser Thr Arg Gly Asp Asp Tyr Gly Leu Ser 20 25 30 Phe Glu Thr Val Val Leu Lys Gly Leu Ala Ala Asp Gly Gly Leu Phe 35 40 45 Leu Pro Glu Glu Val Pro Ala Ala Thr Glu Trp Gln Ser Trp Lys Asp 50 55 60 Leu Pro Tyr Thr Glu Leu Ala Val Lys Val Leu Ser Leu Tyr Ile Ser 65 70 75 80 Pro Ala Glu Val Pro Thr Glu Asp Leu Arg Ala Leu Val Glu Arg Ser 85 90 95 Tyr Ser Thr Phe Arg Ser Lys Glu Val Val Pro Leu Val Lys Leu Glu 100 105 110 Asp Asn Leu His Leu Leu Glu Leu Phe His Gly Pro Asn Tyr Ser Phe 115 120 125 Lys Asp Cys Ala Leu Gln Phe Leu Gly Asn Leu Xaa Glu Tyr Phe 130 135 140 21 571 DNA Glycine max unsure (369)..(369) N = A, C, G or T 21 ggatgcaatg gtgcaggctg attccactgg aatgttcata tgtccacaca ctggggtggc 60 tctggcggcg cttattaagc tgaggaatcg tggggttatc ggtgccggtg agagggttgt 120 ggtggtgagc actgcacatg gattgaagtt tgcacagagc aagattgatt atcattctgg 180 gctcattcct ggaatgggcc gctatgctaa cccgctggtt tcggttaagg cggattttgg 240 atcggtcatg gatgttctca aggattcttg cacaacaagt cccccgactt taacaagtct 300 tgacgttgcc aagtaagttt tagttcgggg ttttttctga ttaaagatgt ttttaaacat 360 gtttgtgtnc actttcggtc gttattatgg atttgtaaga ttgggcccaa gtattcgagg 420 gtttgatttc aaacaacatg cttctggtga cgcaatgcaa atttcggngc ataacatcat 480 tgtcgaagat ggatcncgac cgatgaaact gtgtggcaag taatgagaag aaaatagggc 540 acttgtacag agatttnaaa gnttaatttc n 571 22 104 PRT Glycine max 22 Asp Ala Met Val Gln Ala Asp Ser Thr Gly Met Phe Ile Cys Pro His 1 5 10 15 Thr Gly Val Ala Leu Ala Ala Leu Ile Lys Leu Arg Asn Arg Gly Val 20 25 30 Ile Gly Ala Gly Glu Arg Val Val Val Val Ser Thr Ala His Gly Leu 35 40 45 Lys Phe Ala Gln Ser Lys Ile Asp Tyr His Ser Gly Leu Ile Pro Gly 50 55 60 Met Gly Arg Tyr Ala Asn Pro Leu Val Ser Val Lys Ala Asp Phe Gly 65 70 75 80 Ser Val Met Asp Val Leu Lys Asp Ser Cys Thr Thr Ser Pro Pro Thr 85 90 95 Leu Thr Ser Leu Asp Val Ala Lys 100 23 2191 DNA Glycine max 23 gcttcctctt ctctgtttca gtctctccct ttctctctcc aaacctctaa accctacgcg 60 cctcccaaac ccgccgccca cttcgttgtc cgcgcccaat cccccctcac tcagaacaac 120 aactcctcct ccaagcatcg ccgccccgcc gacgagaaca tccgcgacga ggcccgccgc 180 atcaatgcgc cccacgacca ccacctcttc tcggccaagt acgtcccctt caacgccgac 240 tcctcctcct cctcctccac ggagtcctac tcgctcgacg agatcgtcta ccgctcccaa 300 tccggcggcc tcctggacgt ccagcacgac atggatgccc tcaagcgttt cgacggcgag 360 tactggcgca acctcttcga ctcgcgcgtg ggcaaaacca cctggcctta cggctccggc 420 gtctggagca aaaaagaatg ggtcctcccc gagatccacg acgacgatat cgtctccgcc 480 ttcgagggta actccaacct cttctgggcc gagcgtttcg gcaaacagtt cctcggcatg 540 aacgatttgt gggtcaaaca ctgcggaatc agccacacgg gcagcttcaa ggatctcggc 600 atgaccgtcc tcgtcagcca ggtcaatcgc ttgagaaaaa tgaaccgccc cgtcgtcggt 660 gttggttgcg cctccaccgg tgacacatcg gccgctttat ccgcctattg cgcttccgct 720 gccattcctt ccattgtgtt tttgcctgct aataaaatct ctcttgccca acttgttcag 780 cctattgcca atggagcctt tgtgttgagt atcgacactg attttgatgg ttgcatgcag 840 ttgatcagag aagtcactgc tgaattgcct atttatttgg ctaactctct caacagtttg 900 aagttggaag ggcagaaaac tgctgctatt gagattctgc agcagtttga ttggcaggtt 960 cctgattggg tcattgtgcc tggaagcaac cttggcaaca tttatgcctt ttacaaaggg 1020 tttaagatgt ttcaagagct tgggcttgtg gataagattc caaggcttgt ttgtgctcag 1080 gctgccaatg ctgatccttt gtatttgtac tttaaatccg ggtggaagga gtttaagcct 1140 gtgaagtcga gcactacatt tgcttctgcc attcaaattg gtgatcctgt ttccattgac 1200 agggcggttc acgcgctaaa gagttgcgat gggattgtgg aggaggccac ggaggaggag 1260 ttgatggatg ctacagcgca ggcggattct actgggatgt ttatttgccc ccacaccggg 1320 gttgctttaa ctgcattgtt taagctcagg aacagcgggg ttattaaggc cactgatagg 1380 actgtggtgg ttagcactgc tcatggcttg aagttcactc agtccaagat tgattaccat 1440 tctaaggaca tcaaggacat ggcttgccgc tatgctaacc cgcccatgca agtgaaggca 1500 gactttggct cggttatgga tgttttgaag acgtatttgc agagtaaggc tcattaggtt 1560 agcattgcaa gttttgctcc tcctgagttt gctcattatt tacttacttt taggcactac 1620 tgctgtattg tcttttctat gagctaggtt tgagtgttgt aataatttgc ttgctgcatt 1680 atgtatgccg tctagtgttc catattgggc atcatcctta gtatttgttg tagattttct 1740 ttgctgagca tttgatataa tagctcaagt aggaaaatga attgggtact atgaggaatg 1800 catatcattg gcttgttatt actggattcc agaccacccc aaaagaaaat aattccaaaa 1860 aatataatta gaacaaattt cgtccttgtt atgctgttgg cattaagctc agtgtgggta 1920 ttaccaagca actcgaaatc aagagaaaaa aaaattgaca gcaaaggagc tgcattgttg 1980 gactgagtca catcacttca ttgctatgtc gtcatatttc gttgaattac gggaaggcag 2040 catgcacagc aatatgcagc gattaactga agccacaccg cacacattga agtagtagtc 2100 aatttagaca ctccatcttg tactttctac aaaaatgaat ttttcttagc cattaagtat 2160 aatattttat tctaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa a 2191 24 518 PRT Glycine max 24 Ala Ser Ser Ser Leu Phe Gln Ser Leu Pro Phe Ser Leu Gln Thr Ser 1 5 10 15 Lys Pro Tyr Ala Pro Pro Lys Pro Ala Ala His Phe Val Val Arg Ala 20 25 30 Gln Ser Pro Leu Thr Gln Asn Asn Asn Ser Ser Ser Lys His Arg Arg 35 40 45 Pro Ala Asp Glu Asn Ile Arg Asp Glu Ala Arg Arg Ile Asn Ala Pro 50 55 60 His Asp His His Leu Phe Ser Ala Lys Tyr Val Pro Phe Asn Ala Asp 65 70 75 80 Ser Ser Ser Ser Ser Ser Thr Glu Ser Tyr Ser Leu Asp Glu Ile Val 85 90 95 Tyr Arg Ser Gln Ser Gly Gly Leu Leu Asp Val Gln His Asp Met Asp 100 105 110 Ala Leu Lys Arg Phe Asp Gly Glu Tyr Trp Arg Asn Leu Phe Asp Ser 115 120 125 Arg Val Gly Lys Thr Thr Trp Pro Tyr Gly Ser Gly Val Trp Ser Lys 130 135 140 Lys Glu Trp Val Leu Pro Glu Ile His Asp Asp Asp Ile Val Ser Ala 145 150 155 160 Phe Glu Gly Asn Ser Asn Leu Phe Trp Ala Glu Arg Phe Gly Lys Gln 165 170 175 Phe Leu Gly Met Asn Asp Leu Trp Val Lys His Cys Gly Ile Ser His 180 185 190 Thr Gly Ser Phe Lys Asp Leu Gly Met Thr Val Leu Val Ser Gln Val 195 200 205 Asn Arg Leu Arg Lys Met Asn Arg Pro Val Val Gly Val Gly Cys Ala 210 215 220 Ser Thr Gly Asp Thr Ser Ala Ala Leu Ser Ala Tyr Cys Ala Ser Ala 225 230 235 240 Ala Ile Pro Ser Ile Val Phe Leu Pro Ala Asn Lys Ile Ser Leu Ala 245 250 255 Gln Leu Val Gln Pro Ile Ala Asn Gly Ala Phe Val Leu Ser Ile Asp 260 265 270 Thr Asp Phe Asp Gly Cys Met Gln Leu Ile Arg Glu Val Thr Ala Glu 275 280 285 Leu Pro Ile Tyr Leu Ala Asn Ser Leu Asn Ser Leu Lys Leu Glu Gly 290 295 300 Gln Lys Thr Ala Ala Ile Glu Ile Leu Gln Gln Phe Asp Trp Gln Val 305 310 315 320 Pro Asp Trp Val Ile Val Pro Gly Ser Asn Leu Gly Asn Ile Tyr Ala 325 330 335 Phe Tyr Lys Gly Phe Lys Met Phe Gln Glu Leu Gly Leu Val Asp Lys 340 345 350 Ile Pro Arg Leu Val Cys Ala Gln Ala Ala Asn Ala Asp Pro Leu Tyr 355 360 365 Leu Tyr Phe Lys Ser Gly Trp Lys Glu Phe Lys Pro Val Lys Ser Ser 370 375 380 Thr Thr Phe Ala Ser Ala Ile Gln Ile Gly Asp Pro Val Ser Ile Asp 385 390 395 400 Arg Ala Val His Ala Leu Lys Ser Cys Asp Gly Ile Val Glu Glu Ala 405 410 415 Thr Glu Glu Glu Leu Met Asp Ala Thr Ala Gln Ala Asp Ser Thr Gly 420 425 430 Met Phe Ile Cys Pro His Thr Gly Val Ala Leu Thr Ala Leu Phe Lys 435 440 445 Leu Arg Asn Ser Gly Val Ile Lys Ala Thr Asp Arg Thr Val Val Val 450 455 460 Ser Thr Ala His Gly Leu Lys Phe Thr Gln Ser Lys Ile Asp Tyr His 465 470 475 480 Ser Lys Asp Ile Lys Asp Met Ala Cys Arg Tyr Ala Asn Pro Pro Met 485 490 495 Gln Val Lys Ala Asp Phe Gly Ser Val Met Asp Val Leu Lys Thr Tyr 500 505 510 Leu Gln Ser Lys Ala His 515 25 643 DNA Triticum aestiva unsure (177)..(177) N = A, C, G or T 25 gctcatccag cccatcgcca acggcgccac ggtgctctcg cttgacacgg atttcgacgg 60 atgcatgcgg cttatcaggg aggtgacagc tgagctgccc atatacctcg caaactcact 120 caactcgctt ccggctggag gggcagaaga ctgcagccat ccgagatatt gcaacantca 180 attggcaggt gcccggactg ggtcacatcc caaggaggca atctggggga acattttatg 240 ctttcctaca aggatttnaa tttccgtgtc cttngctagt tgattncctt ccnactcctt 300 gttantncaa naggccgcca acgcaaaccc actgtacccg tactacaatc ctggggtgac 360 tgatttccat ccacttgntt gccgggacaa tttncatccn gcaacaattt ggggattcca 420 tatcnattac cntcggtttt ttcnccctna aaggacnnat gattntccna ggaactccnn 480 aggnggatca aggatccaaa ggctttctac tcactggaan ttgcttccca anacggggtt 540 cactnccgcc cgttaaaccc ntgacaagta taatggacaa cacnccgggg tntatnacaa 600 cggcaanttn aaancaagtt natcattaga acnggaantt ncc 643 26 84 PRT Triticum aestiva UNSURE (44)..(44) Xaa = any amino acid 26 Leu Ile Gln Pro Ile Ala Asn Gly Ala Thr Val Leu Ser Leu Asp Thr 1 5 10 15 Asp Phe Asp Gly Cys Met Arg Leu Ile Arg Glu Val Thr Ala Glu Leu 20 25 30 Pro Ile Tyr Leu Ala Asn Ser Leu Asn Ser Leu Xaa Leu Glu Gly Gln 35 40 45 Lys Thr Ala Ala Ile Arg Asp Ile Ala Thr Xaa Asn Trp Gln Val Pro 50 55 60 Gly Leu Gly His Ile Pro Arg Arg Gln Ser Xaa Thr Phe Tyr Ala Phe 65 70 75 80 Leu Gln Gly Phe 27 525 PRT Arabidopsis thaliana 27 Leu Ser Ser Cys Leu Phe Asn Ala Ser Val Ser Ser Leu Asn Pro Lys 1 5 10 15 Gln Asp Pro Ile Arg Arg His Arg Ser Thr Ser Leu Leu Arg His Arg 20 25 30 Pro Val Val Ile Ser Cys Thr Ala Asp Gly Asn Asn Ile Lys Ala Pro 35 40 45 Ile Glu Thr Ala Val Lys Pro Pro His Arg Thr Glu Asp Asn Ile Arg 50 55 60 Asp Glu Ala Arg Arg Asn Arg Ser Asn Ala Val Asn Pro Phe Ser Ala 65 70 75 80 Lys Tyr Val Pro Phe Asn Ala Ala Pro Gly Ser Thr Glu Ser Tyr Ser 85 90 95 Leu Asp Glu Ile Val Tyr Arg Ser Arg Ser Gly Gly Leu Leu Asp Val 100 105 110 Glu His Asp Met Glu Ala Leu Lys Arg Phe Asp Gly Ala Tyr Trp Arg 115 120 125 Asp Leu Phe Asp Ser Arg Val Gly Lys Ser Thr Trp Pro Tyr Gly Ser 130 135 140 Gly Val Trp Ser Lys Lys Glu Trp Val Leu Pro Glu Ile Asp Asp Asp 145 150 155 160 Asp Ile Val Ser Ala Phe Glu Gly Asn Ser Asn Leu Phe Trp Ala Glu 165 170 175 Arg Phe Gly Lys Gln Phe Leu Gly Met Asn Asp Leu Trp Val Lys His 180 185 190 Cys Gly Ile Ser His Thr Gly Ser Phe Lys Asp Leu Gly Met Thr Val 195 200 205 Leu Val Ser Gln Val Asn Arg Leu Arg Lys Met Lys Arg Pro Val Val 210 215 220 Gly Val Gly Cys Ala Ser Thr Gly Asp Thr Ser Ala Ala Leu Ser Ala 225 230 235 240 Tyr Cys Ala Ser Ala Gly Ile Pro Ser Ile Val Phe Leu Pro Ala Asn 245 250 255 Lys Ile Ser Met Ala Gln Leu Val Gln Pro Ile Ala Asn Gly Ala Phe 260 265 270 Val Leu Ser Ile Asp Thr Asp Phe Asp Gly Cys Met Lys Leu Ile Arg 275 280 285 Glu Ile Thr Ala Glu Leu Pro Ile Tyr Leu Ala Asn Ser Leu Asn Ser 290 295 300 Leu Arg Leu Glu Gly Gln Lys Thr Ala Ala Ile Glu Ile Leu Gln Gln 305 310 315 320 Phe Asp Trp Gln Val Pro Asp Trp Val Ile Val Pro Gly Gly Asn Leu 325 330 335 Gly Asn Ile Tyr Ala Phe Tyr Lys Gly Phe Lys Met Cys Gln Glu Leu 340 345 350 Gly Leu Val Asp Arg Ile Pro Arg Met Val Cys Ala Gln Ala Ala Asn 355 360 365 Ala Asn Pro Leu Tyr Leu His Tyr Lys Ser Gly Trp Lys Asp Phe Lys 370 375 380 Pro Met Thr Ala Ser Thr Thr Phe Ala Ser Ala Ile Gln Ile Gly Asp 385 390 395 400 Pro Val Ser Ile Asp Arg Ala Val Tyr Ala Leu Lys Lys Cys Asn Gly 405 410 415 Ile Val Glu Glu Ala Thr Glu Glu Glu Leu Met Asp Ala Met Ala Gln 420 425 430 Ala Asp Ser Thr Gly Met Phe Ile Cys Pro His Thr Gly Val Ala Leu 435 440 445 Thr Ala Leu Phe Lys Leu Arg Asn Gln Gly Val Ile Ala Pro Thr Asp 450 455 460 Arg Thr Val Val Val Ser Thr Ala His Gly Leu Lys Phe Thr Gln Ser 465 470 475 480 Lys Ile Asp Tyr His Ser Asn Ala Ile Pro Asp Met Ala Cys Arg Phe 485 490 495 Ser Asn Pro Pro Val Asp Val Lys Ala Asp Phe Gly Ala Val Met Asp 500 505 510 Val Leu Lys Ser Tyr Leu Gly Ser Asn Thr Leu Thr Ser 515 520 525 28 1478 DNA Zea mays 28 caacagtggt ccttgagggg gactcatatg atgaagctca gtcatatgca aaattgcgtt 60 gccagcagga aggccgcaca tttgtacctc cttttgacca tcctgatgtc atcactggac 120 aaggaactat cggcatggaa attgttaggc agctgcaagg tccactgcat gcaatatttg 180 tacctgttgg aggtggtgga ttaattgctg gaattgctgc ctatgtaaaa cgggttcgcc 240 cagaggtgaa aataattgga gtggaaccct cagatgcaaa tgcaatggca ttatccttgt 300 gtcatggtaa gagggtcatg ttggagcatg ttggtgggtt tgctgatggt gtagctgtca 360 aagctgttgg ggaagaaaca tttcgcctgt gcagagagct agtagatggc attgttatgg 420 tcagtcgaga tgctatttgt gcttcaataa aggatatgtt tgaggagaaa agaagtatcc 480 ttgaacctgc tggtgccctt gcattggctg gggctgaagc ctactgcaaa tactataact 540 tgaaaggaga aactgtggtt gcaataacta gtggggcaaa tatgaacttt gatcgactta 600 gactagtaac cgagctagct gatgttggcc gaaaacggga agcagtgtta gctacatttc 660 tgccagagcg gcagggaagc ttcaaaaaat tcacagaatt ggttggcagg atgaatatta 720 ctgaattcaa atacagatac gattctaatg caaaagatgc ccttgttctt tacagtgttg 780 gcatctacac tgacaatgag cttggagcaa tgatggatcg catggaatct gcgaaactga 840 ggactgttaa ccttactgac aatgatttgg caaaggacca ccttagatac tttattggag 900 gaagatcaga aataaaagat gaactggttt accggttcat tttcccggaa aggcctgggg 960 cccttatgaa atttttggac acgtttagtc ctcgttggaa catcagcctt ttccattacc 1020 gtgcacaggg tgaagctgga gcaaatgtat tagttggtat acaagtgccg ccagcagaat 1080 ttgatgaatt caagagtcat gccaacaatc ttgggtacga gtacatgtca gagcacaaca 1140 atgagatata ccggttgctg ttgcgtgacc caaaggtcta atgtatatgc ctttgctccc 1200 ataataagtt ggtgacactt ttcaaggaag attttgctcc aaggtagaag ttgcgagttt 1260 cttcaagttg aaatgaagcc atcaccaaat gtagcttcgg tgtgccatct gtttactcag 1320 ttagatcatg tagtgtatca gttgtgtatc tttgttgttg tgcttcgtga tctcaattta 1380 ttgctttgtg cacctagagg ttgtcaaata atgataaccg atatgttatc taaatatcta 1440 ataatgatta tgtgattgtg attaaaaagg gggggccc 1478 29 392 PRT Zea mays 29 Thr Val Val Leu Glu Gly Asp Ser Tyr Asp Glu Ala Gln Ser Tyr Ala 1 5 10 15 Lys Leu Arg Cys Gln Gln Glu Gly Arg Thr Phe Val Pro Pro Phe Asp 20 25 30 His Pro Asp Val Ile Thr Gly Gln Gly Thr Ile Gly Met Glu Ile Val 35 40 45 Arg Gln Leu Gln Gly Pro Leu His Ala Ile Phe Val Pro Val Gly Gly 50 55 60 Gly Gly Leu Ile Ala Gly Ile Ala Ala Tyr Val Lys Arg Val Arg Pro 65 70 75 80 Glu Val Lys Ile Ile Gly Val Glu Pro Ser Asp Ala Asn Ala Met Ala 85 90 95 Leu Ser Leu Cys His Gly Lys Arg Val Met Leu Glu His Val Gly Gly 100 105 110 Phe Ala Asp Gly Val Ala Val Lys Ala Val Gly Glu Glu Thr Phe Arg 115 120 125 Leu Cys Arg Glu Leu Val Asp Gly Ile Val Met Val Ser Arg Asp Ala 130 135 140 Ile Cys Ala Ser Ile Lys Asp Met Phe Glu Glu Lys Arg Ser Ile Leu 145 150 155 160 Glu Pro Ala Gly Ala Leu Ala Leu Ala Gly Ala Glu Ala Tyr Cys Lys 165 170 175 Tyr Tyr Asn Leu Lys Gly Glu Thr Val Val Ala Ile Thr Ser Gly Ala 180 185 190 Asn Met Asn Phe Asp Arg Leu Arg Leu Val Thr Glu Leu Ala Asp Val 195 200 205 Gly Arg Lys Arg Glu Ala Val Leu Ala Thr Phe Leu Pro Glu Arg Gln 210 215 220 Gly Ser Phe Lys Lys Phe Thr Glu Leu Val Gly Arg Met Asn Ile Thr 225 230 235 240 Glu Phe Lys Tyr Arg Tyr Asp Ser Asn Ala Lys Asp Ala Leu Val Leu 245 250 255 Tyr Ser Val Gly Ile Tyr Thr Asp Asn Glu Leu Gly Ala Met Met Asp 260 265 270 Arg Met Glu Ser Ala Lys Leu Arg Thr Val Asn Leu Thr Asp Asn Asp 275 280 285 Leu Ala Lys Asp His Leu Arg Tyr Phe Ile Gly Gly Arg Ser Glu Ile 290 295 300 Lys Asp Glu Leu Val Tyr Arg Phe Ile Phe Pro Glu Arg Pro Gly Ala 305 310 315 320 Leu Met Lys Phe Leu Asp Thr Phe Ser Pro Arg Trp Asn Ile Ser Leu 325 330 335 Phe His Tyr Arg Ala Gln Gly Glu Ala Gly Ala Asn Val Leu Val Gly 340 345 350 Ile Gln Val Pro Pro Ala Glu Phe Asp Glu Phe Lys Ser His Ala Asn 355 360 365 Asn Leu Gly Tyr Glu Tyr Met Ser Glu His Asn Asn Glu Ile Tyr Arg 370 375 380 Leu Leu Leu Arg Asp Pro Lys Val 385 390 30 728 DNA Glycine max unsure (501)..(501) N = A, C, G or T 30 aaaatattgt agcaataacc agtggagcaa acatgaattt tgataaactt cgggttgtaa 60 ctgaacttgc taatgttggt cgtaaacaag aggctgtgct ggcaactgtt atggcagagg 120 agcctggcag tttcaaacaa ttttgtgaat tggtggggca gatgaacata acagaattca 180 aatacagata taactcaaat gagaaggcag ttgtccttta cagtgttggg gttcacacaa 240 tctccgaact aagagcaatg caggagagga tggaatcttc tcagctcaaa acttacaatc 300 tcacagaaag tgacttggtg aaagaccact tgcgttactt gatgggaggc cgatcaaacg 360 ttcagaatga ggtctttgtc gtctcacctt tccaagaaag actggtgctt tgatgaaatt 420 tttggaccct tcagtccacg ttgggatatt agtttatcca ttaccgaggg gaggtgaaac 480 tggagcaaac tgctagttgg ntacaggtac caaaatgaga tagatgagtc catgatcgtg 540 ctaacaaact ggatatgatt ataagtggna atatgtgatg nctcagctca atcncgatgg 600 ggnttaagca ctgcatatgg gnattagggg nagntacant taaattcacg gcctcaagnt 660 aagcatantn taggaactag ctttacaggg ggctacnant taaccgngta ttttttttga 720 gatganng 728 31 152 PRT Glycine max UNSURE (130)..(130) Xaa = any amino acid 31 Asn Ile Val Ala Ile Thr Ser Gly Ala Asn Met Asn Phe Asp Lys Leu 1 5 10 15 Arg Val Val Thr Glu Leu Ala Asn Val Gly Arg Lys Gln Glu Ala Val 20 25 30 Leu Ala Thr Val Met Ala Glu Glu Pro Gly Ser Phe Lys Gln Phe Cys 35 40 45 Glu Leu Val Gly Gln Met Asn Ile Thr Glu Phe Lys Tyr Arg Tyr Asn 50 55 60 Ser Asn Glu Lys Ala Val Val Leu Tyr Ser Val Gly Val His Thr Ile 65 70 75 80 Ser Glu Leu Arg Ala Met Gln Glu Arg Met Glu Ser Ser Gln Leu Lys 85 90 95 Thr Tyr Asn Leu Thr Glu Ser Asp Leu Val Lys Asp His Leu Arg Tyr 100 105 110 Leu Met Gly Gly Arg Ser Asn Val Gln Asn Glu Val Phe Val Val Ser 115 120 125 Pro Xaa Pro Arg Lys Thr Gly Ala Leu Met Lys Phe Leu Asp Xaa Phe 130 135 140 Ser Pro Arg Trp Asp Ile Ser Leu 145 150 32 572 DNA Glycine max 32 aaagacctgg tgctttgatg aaatttttgg accccttcag tccacgttgg aatatcagtt 60 tattccatta ccgaggggag ggtgaaactg gagcaaatgt gctagttgga atacaggtac 120 ccaaaagtga gatggatgag ttccacgatc gtgccaacaa acttggatat gattataaag 180 tggtgaataa tgatgatgac ttccagcttc taatgcactg atgatggttt taggcacttg 240 ccattattgt gtattttagt caacaagttt gccatattta atatttccac ggtcgtttct 300 aaaagttgga tggggaaaaa aggtggaaag gaagtggcct tcagacatgt cattagttga 360 ttagaggaac aactagttct ttttacctaa tgcggcgtct tattacattt tttataatct 420 gtaatttatg tttttttgtt gttgttaaca ttggaatctt ataatgttgt tgcctggtct 480 tttgtgtctg taatataagt gtcttcaaaa ggttgtttgc taaatttcag cagcctaaaa 540 aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aa 572 33 72 PRT Glycine max 33 Arg Pro Gly Ala Leu Met Lys Phe Leu Asp Pro Phe Ser Pro Arg Trp 1 5 10 15 Asn Ile Ser Leu Phe His Tyr Arg Gly Glu Gly Glu Thr Gly Ala Asn 20 25 30 Val Leu Val Gly Ile Gln Val Pro Lys Ser Glu Met Asp Glu Phe His 35 40 45 Asp Arg Ala Asn Lys Leu Gly Tyr Asp Tyr Lys Val Val Asn Asn Asp 50 55 60 Asp Asp Phe Gln Leu Leu Met His 65 70 34 507 PRT Burkholderia capacia 34 Met Ala Ser His Asp Tyr Leu Lys Lys Ile Leu Thr Ala Arg Val Tyr 1 5 10 15 Asp Val Ala Phe Glu Thr Glu Leu Glu Pro Ala Arg Asn Leu Ser Ala 20 25 30 Arg Leu Arg Asn Pro Val Tyr Leu Lys Arg Glu Asp Asn Gln Pro Val 35 40 45 Phe Ser Phe Lys Leu Arg Gly Ala Tyr Asn Lys Met Ala His Ile Pro 50 55 60 Ala Asp Ala Leu Ala Arg Gly Val Ile Thr Ala Ser Ala Gly Asn His 65 70 75 80 Ala Gln Gly Val Ala Phe Ser Ala Ala Arg Met Gly Val Lys Ala Val 85 90 95 Ile Val Val Pro Val Thr Thr Pro Gln Val Lys Val Asp Ala Val Arg 100 105 110 Ala His Gly Gly Pro Gly Val Glu Val Ile Gln Ala Gly Glu Ser Tyr 115 120 125 Ser Asp Ala Tyr Ala His Ala Leu Lys Val Gln Glu Glu Arg Gly Leu 130 135 140 Thr Phe Val His Pro Phe Asp Asp Pro Tyr Val Ile Ala Gly Gln Gly 145 150 155 160 Thr Ile Ala Met Glu Ile Leu Arg Gln His Gln Gly Pro Ile His Ala 165 170 175 Ile Phe Val Pro Ile Gly Gly Gly Gly Leu Ala Ala Gly Val Ala Ala 180 185 190 Tyr Val Lys Ala Val Arg Pro Glu Ile Lys Val Ile Gly Val Gln Ala 195 200 205 Glu Asp Ser Cys Ala Met Ala Gln Ser Leu Gln Ala Gly Lys Arg Val 210 215 220 Glu Leu Ala Glu Val Gly Leu Phe Ala Asp Gly Thr Ala Val Lys Leu 225 230 235 240 Val Gly Glu Glu Thr Phe Arg Leu Cys Lys Glu Tyr Leu Asp Gly Val 245 250 255 Val Thr Val Asp Thr Asp Ala Leu Cys Ala Ala Ile Lys Asp Val Phe 260 265 270 Gln Asp Thr Arg Ser Val Leu Glu Pro Ser Gly Ala Leu Ala Val Ala 275 280 285 Gly Ala Lys Leu Tyr Ala Glu Arg Glu Gly Ile Glu Asn Gln Thr Leu 290 295 300 Val Ala Val Thr Ser Gly Ala Asn Met Asn Phe Asp Arg Met Arg Phe 305 310 315 320 Val Ala Glu Arg Ala Glu Val Gly Glu Ala Arg Glu Ala Val Phe Ala 325 330 335 Val Thr Ile Pro Glu Glu Arg Gly Ser Phe Lys Arg Phe Cys Ser Leu 340 345 350 Val Gly Asp Arg Asn Val Thr Glu Phe Asn Tyr Arg Ile Ala Asp Ala 355 360 365 Gln Ser Ala His Ile Phe Val Gly Val Gln Ile Arg Arg Arg Gly Glu 370 375 380 Ser Ala Asp Ile Ala Ala Asn Phe Glu Ser His Gly Phe Lys Thr Ala 385 390 395 400 Asp Leu Thr His Asp Glu Leu Ser Lys Glu His Ile Arg Tyr Met Val 405 410 415 Gly Gly Arg Ser Pro Leu Ala Leu Asp Glu Arg Leu Phe Arg Phe Glu 420 425 430 Phe Pro Glu Arg Pro Gly Ala Leu Met Lys Phe Leu Ser Ser Met Ala 435 440 445 Pro Asp Trp Asn Ile Ser Leu Phe His Tyr Arg Asn Gln Gly Ala Asp 450 455 460 Tyr Ser Ser Ile Leu Val Gly Leu Gln Val Pro Gln Ala Asp His Ala 465 470 475 480 Glu Phe Glu Arg Phe Leu Ala Ala Leu Gly Tyr Pro Tyr Val Glu Glu 485 490 495 Ser Ala Asn Pro Ala Tyr Arg Leu Phe Leu Ser 500 505 35 1582 DNA Zea mays 35 acgagacgag tcccctcccc ccacctcgcc tcacccaacc ggaacgaaca agttaccatc 60 tcatcccaac cccgcctcga ccggatctcg tcggactcgg atccgcccga ccaccccgcg 120 ccgccgcaga tcaaagaaga tggcagctct cgacaccttc ctcttcacct cggagtctgt 180 gaacgaggga caccctgaca agctctgcga ccaggtctca gatgccgttc ttgacgcttg 240 ccttgctgag gaccctgaca gcaaggttgc ttgtgagacc tgcaccaaga ccaacatggt 300 catggtcttt ggtgagatca ccaccaaggc caatgtcgac tacgagaaga ttgtcaggga 360 gacctgccgc aacattggtt ttgtgtcaaa cgatgtcggg cttgacgctg accactgcaa 420 ggtgctcgtg aacattgagc agcagtcccc tgatattgct cagggtgtgc atggccactt 480 caccaagcgc cccgaggaga ttggagctgg tgaccaggga cacatgttcg ggtatgcgac 540 cgatgagacc cctgagttga tgcccctcag ccatgtcctt gccaccaagc taggtgctcg 600 tctcaccgag gtccgcaaga acggaacctg cccctggctc aggcctgatg ggaagaccca 660 ggtgacagtc gagtaccgca atgagggtgg tgccatggtc cccatccgtg tccacaccgt 720 cctcatctcc acccagcacg acgagacagt gaccaatgat gagatcgctg ctgacctgaa 780 ggagcatgtc atcaagccta tcatccctga gcagtacctt gacgagaaga ccatcttcca 840 ccttaaccca tccggccgct ttgtcattgg tggacctcac ggcgatgctg gcctcactgg 900 ccgcaagatc atcattgaca cctacggtgg ctggggagcc catggcggtg gcgctttctc 960 cggcaaggac ccaaccaagg ttgaccgcag cggagcctat gtcgcgaggc aggctgccaa 1020 gagcatcgtc gccagcggcc ttgctcgccg cgccatcgtc caggtgtcct acgccatcgg 1080 cgtgcccgag cctctctccg tgtttgtcga cacgtacggc accggcgcga tccccgacaa 1140 ggagatcctc aagattgtca aggagaactt cgatttcagg cctggcatga ttatcatcaa 1200 ccttgacctc aagaaaggcg gcaacgggcg ctacctcaag acggcagcct acggccactt 1260 cggaagggac gaccctgact tcacctggga ggtggtgaag ccactcaagt cggagaaacc 1320 ttctgcctaa ggcggccttt ttttcagtaa gaagcttttg gtggtctgct gtgcttaatc 1380 atgcttttat atggcttcta catgttgtgg ttctttcttg atctgcaccg cgcttatcgt 1440 ttgtgttgta ctgccctaat aagtggtgct tatgaggact gtttctggtt ttgctgctta 1500 tgttgtaatg ctttgaaaca atgaaagaag ctacaggcca cagctatttt gagaagtaat 1560 ggaacctcgt gccgttttga tt 1582 36 396 PRT Zea mays 36 Met Ala Ala Leu Asp Thr Phe Leu Phe Thr Ser Glu Ser Val Asn Glu 1 5 10 15 Gly His Pro Asp Lys Leu Cys Asp Gln Val Ser Asp Ala Val Leu Asp 20 25 30 Ala Cys Leu Ala Glu Asp Pro Asp Ser Lys Val Ala Cys Glu Thr Cys 35 40 45 Thr Lys Thr Asn Met Val Met Val Phe Gly Glu Ile Thr Thr Lys Ala 50 55 60 Asn Val Asp Tyr Glu Lys Ile Val Arg Glu Thr Cys Arg Asn Ile Gly 65 70 75 80 Phe Val Ser Asn Asp Val Gly Leu Asp Ala Asp His Cys Lys Val Leu 85 90 95 Val Asn Ile Glu Gln Gln Ser Pro Asp Ile Ala Gln Gly Val His Gly 100 105 110 His Phe Thr Lys Arg Pro Glu Glu Ile Gly Ala Gly Asp Gln Gly His 115 120 125 Met Phe Gly Tyr Ala Thr Asp Glu Thr Pro Glu Leu Met Pro Leu Ser 130 135 140 His Val Leu Ala Thr Lys Leu Gly Ala Arg Leu Thr Glu Val Arg Lys 145 150 155 160 Asn Gly Thr Cys Pro Trp Leu Arg Pro Asp Gly Lys Thr Gln Val Thr 165 170 175 Val Glu Tyr Arg Asn Glu Gly Gly Ala Met Val Pro Ile Arg Val His 180 185 190 Thr Val Leu Ile Ser Thr Gln His Asp Glu Thr Val Thr Asn Asp Glu 195 200 205 Ile Ala Ala Asp Leu Lys Glu His Val Ile Lys Pro Ile Ile Pro Glu 210 215 220 Gln Tyr Leu Asp Glu Lys Thr Ile Phe His Leu Asn Pro Ser Gly Arg 225 230 235 240 Phe Val Ile Gly Gly Pro His Gly Asp Ala Gly Leu Thr Gly Arg Lys 245 250 255 Ile Ile Ile Asp Thr Tyr Gly Gly Trp Gly Ala His Gly Gly Gly Ala 260 265 270 Phe Ser Gly Lys Asp Pro Thr Lys Val Asp Arg Ser Gly Ala Tyr Val 275 280 285 Ala Arg Gln Ala Ala Lys Ser Ile Val Ala Ser Gly Leu Ala Arg Arg 290 295 300 Ala Ile Val Gln Val Ser Tyr Ala Ile Gly Val Pro Glu Pro Leu Ser 305 310 315 320 Val Phe Val Asp Thr Tyr Gly Thr Gly Ala Ile Pro Asp Lys Glu Ile 325 330 335 Leu Lys Ile Val Lys Glu Asn Phe Asp Phe Arg Pro Gly Met Ile Ile 340 345 350 Ile Asn Leu Asp Leu Lys Lys Gly Gly Asn Gly Arg Tyr Leu Lys Thr 355 360 365 Ala Ala Tyr Gly His Phe Gly Arg Asp Asp Pro Asp Phe Thr Trp Glu 370 375 380 Val Val Lys Pro Leu Lys Ser Glu Lys Pro Ser Ala 385 390 395 37 2183 DNA Oryza sativa 37 gaattcttat aaatgaacgg aaaatggaaa aaaaaattga ttggtgccac ttcaaagtta 60 aatatgccaa gacgaattga tatgtttctg ctgttgtttt atgctcttga ttagttgatg 120 cgcatgttca atgatttatg atgtttgtct ttgtggaaag attacatgta aagagtatag 180 tagaacccct aaaagctagc cagcgatttc gctctttttt tccaggtctc catgatatgt 240 ttacccctaa aagtggtata tttatgtgat agttacaata catagtggac cacgattgat 300 tatgcgttta tgctgattcc ggcagaaaat tgttagattc cttgtgctct atacctgctt 360 gttgcgcttg tagagaatat tacaaatacc taacacttgc ccaaggaact taggaactta 420 gtcaactctt tgtagggaca actattttag cccaaaattg tggtcttgtc aggtgccaac 480 aaaacagcat cttggcgtac ataagctata tagaggatta aaaggaatgt tttgttcctt 540 gctactgttt ttttaacctg tttactcagg acaaattttg ttgcataaac catttgttct 600 agggatcagt attgtcctct cagtgtgtta tgtaagcatt tccagaaatc aattgtcgct 660 atcagcttcc ctcacattag ctatcactta tacccctttt tttctcatag gctcaccatg 720 tccattttat tcatgatatt tctttgtcta aagtatgtga aataccattt tatgcagata 780 ggagaagatg gccgcacttg ataccttcct ctttacctcg gagtctgtga acgagggcca 840 ccctgacaag ctctgcgacc aagtctcaga tgctgtgctt gatgcctgcc tcgccgagga 900 ccctgacagc aaggtcgctt gtgagacctg caccaagaca aacatggtca tggtctttgg 960 tgagatcacc accaaggcta acgttgacta tgagaagatt gtcagggaga catgccgtaa 1020 catcggtttt gtgtcagctg atgtcggtct cgatgctgac cactgcaagg tgcttgtgaa 1080 catcgagcag cagtcccctg acattgcaca gggtgtgcac gggcacttca ccaagcgccc 1140 tgaggagatt ggtgctggtg accagggaca catgtttgga tatgcaactg atgagacccc 1200 tgagttgatg cccctcagcc atgtccttgc taccaagctt ggcgctcgtc ttacggaggt 1260 tcgcaagaat gggacctgcg catggctcag gcctgacggg aagacccaag tgactgttga 1320 gtaccgcaat gagagcggtg ccagggtccc tgtccgtgtc cacaccgtcc tcatctctac 1380 ccagcatgat gagacagtca ccaacgatga gattgctgct gacctgaagg agcatgtcat 1440 caagcctgtc attcccgagc agtaccttga tgagaagaca atcttccatc ttaacccatc 1500 tggtcgcttc gtcattggcg gacctcatgg tgatgctggt ctcactggcc ggaagatcat 1560 cattgacact tatggtggct ggggagctca cggtggtggt gccttctctg gcaaggaccc 1620 aaccaaggtt gaccgcagtg gagcatacgt cgcaaggcaa gctgccaaga gcattgttgc 1680 tagtggcctt gctcgccgct gcattgtcca agtatcatac gccatcggtg tcccagagcc 1740 actgtccgta ttcgtcgaca catacggcac tggcaggatc cctgacaagg agatcctcaa 1800 gattgtgaag gagaacttcg acttcaggcc tggcatgatc atcatcaacc ttgacctcaa 1860 gaaaggcggc aacggacgct acctcaagac ggcggcttac ggtcacttcg gaagggacga 1920 cccagacttc acctgggagg tggtgaagcc cctcaagtgg gagaagcctt ctgcctaaaa 1980 gctccctttc ggaggctttt gctctgtccc attatggtgt tttgtttcct cgctgctcag 2040 cattgtgatt cttaacctgc cccccgctgc catttatgcc catgcacgct actttcctaa 2100 taataagtac ttataagggt attgtgtttg aatattttac ctagaggagg aggaggattt 2160 gttatctgtt attgcttaag ctt 2183 38 1485 DNA Glycine max 38 agccaagccc cactcaacca ccacaccact ctctctgctc ttcttctacc tttcaagttt 60 ttaaagtatt aagatggcag agacattcct atttacctca gagtcagtga acgagggaca 120 ccctgacaag ctctgcgacc aaatctccga tgctgtcctc gacgcttgcc ttgaacagga 180 cccagacagc aaggttgcct gcgaaacatg caccaagacc aacttggtca tggtcttcgg 240 agagatcacc accaaggcca acgttgacta cgagaagatc gtgcgtgaca cctgcaggaa 300 catcggcttc gtctcaaacg atgtgggact tgatgctgac aactgcaagg tccttgtaaa 360 cattgagcag cagagccctg atattgccca gggtgtgcac ggccacctta ccaaaagacc 420 cgaggaaatc ggtgctggag accagggtca catgtttggc tatgccacgg acgaaacccc 480 agaattgatg ccattgagtc atgttcttgc aactaaactc ggtgctcgtc tcaccgaggt 540 tcgcaagaac ggaacctgcc catggttgag gcctgatggg aaaacccaag tgactgttga 600 gtattacaat gacaacggtg ccatggttcc agttcgtgtc cacactgtgc ttatctccac 660 ccaacatgat gagactgtga ccaacgacga aattgcagct gacctcaagg agcatgtgat 720 caagccggtg atcccggaga agtaccttga tgagaagacc attttccact tgaacccctc 780 tggccgtttt gtcattggag gtcctcacgg tgatgctggt ctcaccggcc gcaagatcat 840 catcgatact tacggaggat ggggtgctca tggtggtggt gctttctccg ggaaggatcc 900 caccaaggtt gataggagtg gtgcttacat tgtgagacag gctgctaaga gcattgtggc 960 aagtggacta gccagaaggt gcattgtgca agtgtcttat gccattggtg tgcccgagcc 1020 tttgtctgtc tttgttgaca cctatggcac cgggaagatc catgataagg agattctcaa 1080 cattgtgaag gagaactttg atttcaggcc cggtatgatc tccatcaacc ttgatctcaa 1140 gaggggtggg aataacaggt tcttgaagac tgctgcatat ggacacttcg gcagagagga 1200 ccctgacttc acatgggaag tggtcaagcc cctcaagtgg gagaaggcct aaggccattc 1260 attccactgc aatgtgctgg gagtttttta gcgttgccct tataatgtct attatccata 1320 actttccacg tcccttgctc tgtgtttttc tctcgtcgtc ctcctcctat tttgtttctc 1380 ctgcctttca tttgtaattt tttacatgat caactaaaaa atgtactctc tgttttccga 1440 ccattgtgtc tcttaatatc agtatcaaaa agaatgttcc aagtt 1485 39 392 PRT Gylcine max 39 Met Ala Glu Thr Phe Leu Phe Thr Ser Glu Ser Val Asn Glu Gly His 1 5 10 15 Pro Asp Lys Leu Cys Asp Gln Ile Ser Asp Ala Val Leu Asp Ala Cys 20 25 30 Leu Glu Gln Asp Pro Asp Ser Lys Val Ala Cys Glu Thr Cys Thr Lys 35 40 45 Thr Asn Leu Val Met Val Phe Gly Glu Ile Thr Thr Lys Ala Asn Val 50 55 60 Asp Tyr Glu Lys Ile Val Arg Asp Thr Cys Arg Asn Ile Gly Phe Val 65 70 75 80 Ser Asn Asp Val Gly Leu Asp Ala Asp Asn Cys Lys Val Leu Val Asn 85 90 95 Ile Glu Gln Gln Ser Pro Asp Ile Ala Gln Gly Val His Gly His Leu 100 105 110 Thr Lys Arg Pro Glu Glu Ile Gly Ala Gly Asp Gln Gly His Met Phe 115 120 125 Gly Tyr Ala Thr Asp Glu Thr Pro Glu Leu Met Pro Leu Ser His Val 130 135 140 Leu Ala Thr Lys Leu Gly Ala Arg Leu Thr Glu Val Arg Lys Asn Gly 145 150 155 160 Thr Cys Pro Trp Leu Arg Pro Asp Gly Lys Thr Gln Val Thr Val Glu 165 170 175 Tyr Tyr Asn Asp Asn Gly Ala Met Val Pro Val Arg Val His Thr Val 180 185 190 Leu Ile Ser Thr Gln His Asp Glu Thr Val Thr Asn Asp Glu Ile Ala 195 200 205 Ala Asp Leu Lys Glu His Val Ile Lys Pro Val Ile Pro Glu Lys Tyr 210 215 220 Leu Asp Glu Lys Thr Ile Phe His Leu Asn Pro Ser Gly Arg Phe Val 225 230 235 240 Ile Gly Gly Pro His Gly Asp Ala Gly Leu Thr Gly Arg Lys Ile Ile 245 250 255 Ile Asp Thr Tyr Gly Gly Trp Gly Ala His Gly Gly Gly Ala Phe Ser 260 265 270 Gly Lys Asp Pro Thr Lys Val Asp Arg Ser Gly Ala Tyr Ile Val Arg 275 280 285 Gln Ala Ala Lys Ser Ile Val Ala Ser Gly Leu Ala Arg Arg Cys Ile 290 295 300 Val Gln Val Ser Tyr Ala Ile Gly Val Pro Glu Pro Leu Ser Val Phe 305 310 315 320 Val Asp Thr Tyr Gly Thr Gly Lys Ile His Asp Lys Glu Ile Leu Asn 325 330 335 Ile Val Lys Glu Asn Phe Asp Phe Arg Pro Gly Met Ile Ser Ile Asn 340 345 350 Leu Asp Leu Lys Arg Gly Gly Asn Asn Arg Phe Leu Lys Thr Ala Ala 355 360 365 Tyr Gly His Phe Gly Arg Glu Asp Pro Asp Phe Thr Trp Glu Val Val 370 375 380 Lys Pro Leu Lys Trp Glu Lys Ala 385 390 40 1479 DNA Lycopersicon esculentum 40 gaattcctac aaagaggtta tttctctcaa ggggtaaaaa gattgcccct tttcgacatt 60 tataatcctc tttttctctt tgttcgccgt tgggttcttc actttcctgt ttcttgagaa 120 tggaaacttt cttattcacc tccgagtctg tgaacgaggg tcacccagac aagctctgtg 180 atcagatctc tgatgcagtt cttgatgcct gccttgagca agatcccgag agcaaagttg 240 catgtgaaac ttgcaccaag accaacttgg tcatggtctt tggtgagatc acaaccaagg 300 ctattgtaga ctatgagaag attgtgcgtg acacatgccg taatattgga tttgtttctg 360 atgatgttgg tcttgatgct gacaactgca aggtccttgt ttacattgag cagcaaagtc 420 ctgatattgc tcaaggtgtc cacggccatc tgaccaaacg ccccgaggag attggtgctg 480 gtgaccaggg ccacatgttt ggctatgcaa cagatgagac ccctgaatta atgcctctca 540 gtcacgtgct tgcaactaaa cttggtgccc gtcttacaga agtccgcaag aatggcacct 600 gcgcctggtt gaggcctgat ggcaagaccc aagttactgt tgagtatagc aatgacaatg 660 gtgccatggt tccaattagg gtacacactg ttcttatctc cacccaacac gatgagaccg 720 ttaccaatga tgagattgcc cgcgacctta aggagcatgt catcaaacca gtcatcccag 780 agaagtacct tgatgagaat actattttcc accttaaccc atctggccga ttcgttattg 840 gtggacctca tggtgatgct ggtctcactg gtcgtaaaat catcatcgac acttatggtg 900 gttggggtgc tcatggtggt ggtgctttct cgggcaaaga cccaaccaag gtcgacagga 960 gtggtgcata cattgtaagg caggctgcaa agagtatcgt agctagtgga cttgctcgta 1020 gatgcatcgt gcaggtatct tatgccatcg gtgtgcctga gccattgtct gtattcgttg 1080 acacctatgg cactggaaag atccctgaca gggaaatttt gaagatcgtt aaggagaact 1140 ttgacttcag acctggaatg atgtccatta acttggattt gaagaggggt ggcaatagaa 1200 gattcttgaa aactgctgcc tatggtcact ttggacgtga tgaccccgat ttcacatggg 1260 aagttgtcaa gcccctcaag tgggaaaagc cccaagacta ataagtgctt gcctatgttt 1320 ttgttctttg ttgtttgctt gtggctttag aatctccccc gtgtttgctt gtttgtcttt 1380 gtattttctc ttttgaccct ttattttgtt attgtcctgt ttccattgtg ttggatggat 1440 atcttaggcc ttggaatatt aaggaaagaa aaggaattc 1479 41 1380 DNA Triticum aestiva 41 ccctcccttc ggttcatcgg cctcccgatc gagcagtaga agcagcgcaa gggcatcgct 60 agcactaaag aaatggcagc cgagacgttc ctcttcacgt ccgagtctgt gaacgagggc 120 catcccgaca agctctgtga ccaagtctcc gacgccgtct tggatgcctg cttggcccag 180 gatgccgaca gcaaggtcgc ctgcgagacc gtcaccaaga ccaacatggt catggtcttg 240 ggcgagatca ccaccaaggc caccgtcgac tatgagaaga tcgtgcgtga cacctgccgc 300 aacatcggtt tcatctctga tgacgttggt ctcgacgccg accgttgcaa rgtgctcgtc 360 aacatcgagc agcagtcccc tgacattgcc cagggtgttc atggacactt caccaagcgt 420 cccgaagaag tcggcgccgg tgaccagggc atcatgttcg gctatgccac cgatgagacc 480 cctgagctga tgcccctcaa gcacgtgctt gccaccaagc tyggagctcg cctcacsgag 540 gtccgcaaga atggcacctg cgcctgggtc aggcctgacg gaaagaccca ggtcacagtc 600 gagtacctaa acgaggatgg tgccatggta cctgttcgtg tgcacaccgt cctcatctcc 660 acccagcacg acgagaccgt caccaacgac gagattgctg cggacctcaa ggagcatgtc 720 atcaagccgg tgatccccgc aaagtacctc gatgagaaca ccatcttcca cctgaacccg 780 tctggccgct tcgtcatcgg cggcccccac ggtgacgccg gtctcaccgg ccgcaagatc 840 atcatcgaca cctatggtgg ctggggagcc cacggcggcg gtgccttctc tggcaaggac 900 ccaaccaagg tcgaccgyag tggcgcctac attgccaggc argccgccaa gagcatcatc 960 gccagcggcc tcgcacgccg ctgcattgtg cagatctcat acgccatcgg tgtgcctgag 1020 cctttgtctg tgttcgtcga ctcctacggc accggcaaga tccccgacag ggagatcctc 1080 aagctcgtga aggagaactt tgacttcagg cccgggatga tcagcatcaa cctggacttg 1140 aagaaaggtg gaaacaggtt catcaagacc gctgcttacg gtcactttgg ccgtgatgat 1200 gccgacttca cctgggaggt ggtgaagccc ctcaagttcg acaaggcatc tgcctaagag 1260 catggcattc tcttggtctg ccgcctctca agttcgtcaa gacgggatca tgttgctcct 1320 gggaagtggg aagaagcatt agacattgaa gcgacgctct acactggtct tgttgtatgg 1380 42 394 PRT Triticum aestiva 42 Met Ala Ala Glu Thr Phe Leu Phe Thr Ser Glu Ser Val Asn Glu Gly 1 5 10 15 His Pro Asp Lys Leu Cys Asp Gln Val Ser Asp Ala Val Leu Asp Ala 20 25 30 Cys Leu Ala Gln Asp Ala Asp Ser Lys Val Ala Cys Glu Thr Val Thr 35 40 45 Lys Thr Asn Met Val Met Val Leu Gly Glu Ile Thr Thr Lys Ala Thr 50 55 60 Val Asp Tyr Glu Lys Ile Val Arg Asp Thr Cys Arg Asn Ile Gly Phe 65 70 75 80 Ile Ser Asp Asp Val Gly Leu Asp Ala Asp Arg Cys Lys Val Leu Val 85 90 95 Asn Ile Glu Gln Gln Ser Pro Asp Ile Ala Gln Gly Val His Gly His 100 105 110 Phe Thr Lys Arg Pro Glu Glu Val Gly Ala Gly Asp Gln Gly Ile Met 115 120 125 Phe Gly Tyr Ala Thr Asp Glu Thr Pro Glu Leu Met Pro Leu Lys His 130 135 140 Val Leu Ala Thr Lys Leu Gly Ala Arg Leu Thr Glu Val Arg Lys Asn 145 150 155 160 Gly Thr Cys Ala Trp Val Arg Pro Asp Gly Lys Thr Gln Val Thr Val 165 170 175 Glu Tyr Leu Asn Glu Asp Gly Ala Met Val Pro Val Arg Val His Thr 180 185 190 Val Leu Ile Ser Thr Gln His Asp Glu Thr Val Thr Asn Asp Glu Ile 195 200 205 Ala Ala Asp Leu Lys Glu His Val Ile Lys Pro Val Ile Pro Ala Lys 210 215 220 Tyr Leu Asp Glu Asn Thr Ile Phe His Leu Asn Pro Ser Gly Arg Phe 225 230 235 240 Val Ile Gly Gly Pro His Gly Asp Ala Gly Leu Thr Gly Arg Lys Ile 245 250 255 Ile Ile Asp Thr Tyr Gly Gly Trp Gly Ala His Gly Gly Gly Ala Phe 260 265 270 Ser Gly Lys Asp Pro Thr Lys Val Asp Arg Ser Gly Ala Tyr Ile Ala 275 280 285 Arg Gln Ala Ala Lys Ser Ile Ile Ala Ser Gly Leu Ala Arg Arg Cys 290 295 300 Ile Val Gln Ile Ser Tyr Ala Ile Gly Val Pro Glu Pro Leu Ser Val 305 310 315 320 Phe Val Asp Ser Tyr Gly Thr Gly Lys Ile Pro Asp Arg Glu Ile Leu 325 330 335 Lys Leu Val Lys Glu Asn Phe Asp Phe Arg Pro Gly Met Ile Ser Ile 340 345 350 Asn Leu Asp Leu Lys Lys Gly Gly Asn Arg Phe Ile Lys Thr Ala Ala 355 360 365 Tyr Gly His Phe Gly Arg Asp Asp Ala Asp Phe Thr Trp Glu Val Val 370 375 380 Lys Pro Leu Lys Phe Asp Lys Ala Ser Ala 385 390 43 1353 DNA Hordeum vulgare 43 gaattccgga tagcatcagc acaactgcac gagagcatct ctaccaccaa agaaatggcg 60 gccgagacgt tcctcttcac gtccgagtcc gtgaacgagg gccatcccga caagctgtgc 120 gaccaggtct ctgacgccgt cttggacgcc tgcttggccc aggatcctga cagcaaggtt 180 gcttgcgaga cctgcaccaa gaccaacatg gtcatggtct tcggcgagat caccaccaag 240 gccaccgttg actatgagaa gattgtgcgc gacacctgcc gtgacatcgg cttcatctct 300 gacgacgtcg gtctcgatgc cgaccattgc aaggtgctcg tcaacatcga gcagcaatcc 360 cctgacattg cccagggtgt tcacggacac ttcaccaagc gtccagaaga ggtcggcgcc 420 ggtgaccagg gcatcatgtt tggctacgcc actgatgaga cccctgagct gatgcccctc 480 acccacatgc ttgccaccaa gctcggagct cgcctcaccg aggtccgcaa gaatggcacc 540 tgcgcctggc tcaggcctga tggaaagacc caggtcacca ttgagtacct aaacgagggt 600 ggtgccatgg tgcccgttcg tgtgcacacc gtcctcatct ccacccagca tgatgagacc 660 gtcaccaacg atgagatcgc tgcagacctc aaggagcatg tcatcaagcc ggtgattccc 720 gggaagtacc tcgatgagaa caccatcttc cacctgaacc catcgggccg ctttgtcatc 780 ggtggccctc acggcgatgc cggtctcacc gcccgcaaga tcatcatcga cacctatggt 840 ggctggggag cccacggcgg cggtgccttc tctggcaagg accctaccaa ggtcgaccgc 900 agtggcgcct acattgccag gcaggctgcc aagagcatca tcgccagcgg cctcgcacgc 960 cggtgcattg tgcagatctc atatgccatc ggtgtacctg agcctttgtc tgtgttcgtc 1020 gactcctacg gcactggcaa gatccctgac agggagatcc tcaagctcgt gaaggagaac 1080 tttgacttca gacccgggat gatcacgatc aacctcgact tgaagaaagg tggaaacagg 1140 ttcatcaaga cagctgctta cggtcacttt ggccgcgatg atgctgactt cacctgggag 1200 gtggtgaagc ccctcaagtt cgacaaggca tctgcttaag aagaagacat cacattgagg 1260 gttcttcttg gtctgatgcc tctcaagttc ggcaaggcgg gatccttttg ctcctcggaa 1320 gtaagaagaa gcattcaaca tcgcccggaa ttc 1353 

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated polynucleotide comprising: (a) a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having S-adenosylmethionine synthetase activity, wherein the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide and the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:35 have at least 95% sequence identity based on BLASTN alignment, or (b) the complement of the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide, wherein the complement and the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide contain the same number of nucleotides and are 100% complementary.
 2. The polynucleotide of claim 1 wherein the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:35.
 3. A vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 1. 4. A recombinant DNA construct comprising the polynucleotide of claim 1 operably linked to a regulatory sequence.
 5. A method for transforming a cell comprising transforming a cell with the polynucleotide of claim
 1. 6. A cell comprising the recombinant DNA construct of claim
 4. 7. A method for producing a plant comprising transforming a plant cell with the polynucleotide of claim 1 and regenerating a plant from the transformed plant cell.
 8. A plant comprising the recombinant DNA construct of claim
 4. 9. A seed comprising the recombinant DNA construct of claim
 4. 10. A method for production of a polypeptide having S-adenosylmethionine synthetase activity comprising the steps of cultivating the cell of claim 6 under conditions that allow for production of the polypeptide and isolating the polypeptide from the cultivated cells. 